Close Enough To Love
by JustxAxRandomxPersonx
Summary: Sesshomaru finds himself growing attached to an orphan named Rin, who has been living in a foster home since her parents were brutally murdered. What happens when she suddenly disappears from his life without a trace? 9 years later Rin returns and an opertunistic killer has his eyes on her. Warning: Violence
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha nor do I make a profit from this story. Basically, if you see anything you recognize in this story: I don't own it. :)**

**-Just letting everyone know, Rin will be older when any romantic feelings come up. I wanted to try something different than my other story I'm working on and I hope this one is ok :) If you have any advice please let me know ^-^ Serriously. Let me know. :D**

* * *

_ "Life is for the living,_

_Death is for the dead._

_Let life be like music. _

_And death a note unsaid."_

_-Langston Hughes _

o~O~o

Dan Yamamoto stepped into the neat white kitchen, bracing himself for the argument that was sure to come.

"Yukiyo?" he questioned.

Cradling the phone against her ear, his wife looked at him and frowned. "Be right there" she said dismissively.

'_Always on the phone'_ Glancing at the digital clock on the microwave, he sighed. She had been on the phone for thirty minutes now and was missing the movie, spoiling their daughter's fun. It was a stormy Friday night and both he and his wife had promised their daughter Rin that they would watch Pocahontas with her.

"Can you say goodbye and come watch the movie with us?"

She looked at him with a hint of hostility, but said nothing.

Dan had fallen in love with her when they were just in high school. A girl so tiny, he used to imagine he could carry her around in his pocket. He was so utterly and hopelessly in love, he never thought twice about the whispers in the hallways about her. They would call her a slut or a gold-digger, and he had always dismissed them as rumors and nothing more.

Shortly after they both had finished high school, he proposed to her, and they had gotten married soon after. So happy with the fact that she was now his, he made sure she never had to ask for anything. He was not a rich man, but he always made sure that whatever she wanted, she would get.

"Are you coming?"

"In a minute" she answered, obviously wanting him to leave.

"You said that thirty minutes ago" he retorted. Couldn't she just talk on the phone after the movie?

She ignored him.

Getting agitated, he simply walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a soda. He left, but decided to stop once in the hallway to eavesdrop.

"Yeah...I know...he's such a bastard"

Bastard? _She_ was the one ignoring her daughter at the moment.

He stood there wondering for a moment: Was it his fault their marriage was crumbling? He worked all day and came home only to collapse in bed at night. He hardly had any time to spend with his wife, and on the rare occasions he got home early or had a day off, they always ended up arguing. He was also beginning to suspect that she might be cheating on him. There had been too many mysterious phone calls lately, and too many trips out of the house to buy things she claimed they positively needed, like peanut butter, napkins, or plastic cups.

Whenever he tried to ask who was on the phone, she completely ignored him.

Growing increasingly angry again, he walked back into the kitchen.

"Hold on a sec" she said into the phone. Turning to Dan, she narrowed her eyes and frowned.

He couldn't help but think she was still beautiful even when she was angry.

"What now?" she hissed.

"The movie."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm on the phone Dan."

"Fine. Don't blame me if Rin is disappointed."

He could tell by the troubled look on her face that he had hit a nerve. Good. Maybe she would get off the phone and join him and their daughter.

Back in the living room, he gave his daughter a smile and sat on the floor in front of the couch. Rin had always preferred the couch, where she would stretch her small body out and cuddle into a huge blanket.

Rin watched as her father stared blankly at the floor, not even paying attention to the movie she had been excited to watch with them as a family. They hadn't spent time together in what seemed like forever.

Though she was only nine, Rin was very mature for her age. She knew her parents' marriage wasn't...well it wasn't the best. She often listened in as they argued, and wondered: is this what love was really like? So different from the princess movies she loved so much.

"Where's mommy?" she asked, sitting up slightly.

"She'll be here in a minute" he answered reassuringly.

She glanced at the doorway and then back at her father. He looked upset. "Are you ok daddy?"

"Yes. Everything is fine Rin, don't worry."

Dan took a quick sip of his soda. Maybe he had been so busy, he had neglected Yukiyo's needs. When you worked all day long, you didn't really feel like doing anything afterward, and sometimes were a bit cranky because if the long hours. Sure, he wasn't rich, or breathtakingly handsome, but he did his best to provide for his family. Yukiyo had simply refused to live in an apartment, so he had worked extra hard and made enough money to buy the house they were currently living in. No, it wasn't that big, but it was cozy. And he had gotten it because he wanted to make his wife happy.

The booming sound of thunder interrupted his thoughts.

Rin pulled her blanket over her head. "Daddy I'm scared"

He glanced out the window and saw leaves falling. "It's just thunder and lightning Rin, we'll be ok. Now do daddy a favor and pass the popcorn"

She smiled, handing him the bowl, and he glanced at the soundless clock on the wall. It was a little past seven at night.

"Daddy?" Rin's brown hair was done up in a ponytail and her dark purple pajamas were hidden from his view; her body still curled up under the large blanket.

He took another sip of soda as he listened to the rush of wind and the patter of rain against the windows. The air was humming, and it was too dark out now to really see anything.

"Daddy" Rin said again, tugging on his shirtsleeve, fear showing in her light brown eyes.

He looked out the window again and saw the darkened sky light up from a flash of lightning, followed by the deafening booming sound of thunder; so loud that it seemed to shake the ground. It caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.

The lights flickered for a moment before going out.

"Yukiyo" he yelled, knowing their daughter would want the comfort of both her parents. Rin was scared of both the darkness and thunder storms. Put both together and she was terrified. Though she was slowly getting over her fears of the dark, it was times like this where she just couldn't help but be scared. He hoped one day soon she would get over her fears, knowing both her parents were there for her.

"Mommy?" Rin wailed.

She met them in the doorway, looking both irritated and confused. "What's going on?" she asked.

"The lights went out because of the storm" Dan said.

"No shit" she said sarcastically. She headed for the front door to see how it looked outside, but he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back sharply. "Ow!"

"You shouldn't go outside while there's a storm like that" Dan said calmly, not wanting to fight at the moment.

"Don't grab me like that bastard" she hissed.

"Mommy!" Rin pleaded, looking at her parents with the concern of a child whose emotional range and maturity seemed to outstrip their own at the moment.

Yukiyo rubbed her arm, nursing imagined wounds. Her eyes grew soft as she stared at the outline of her daughter. Because of how dark it was, she couldn't make out her features.

Dan walked over to a night-table, opening the drawer to take out two flashlights. Walking back over to the couch he saw Rin had pulled her blanket tightly around herself, as if it could protect her from the frightening sounds. Yukiyo had her arms wrapped protectively around her daughter, knowing how frightened she was.

Handing one flashlight to his wife, he said, "Be right back" before quickly running upstairs. Dan walked into the master bedroom, shining the flashlight around the dark room. He walked over toward the bed and yanked off the covers. It had gotten a bit cold in the house.

Back in the living room, he draped the blanket over his wife and sat next to her on the couch.

He turned his head slightly and met Yukiyo's angry gaze, the light from the flashlight playing across her grim features. Her mouth was shut tight, forming a straight line, and she was looking at him as if the storm was his fault.

'_Fine, blame me'_ He didn't really care at the moment. Wind blew against the windows.

"Where's Aiko?" Rin asked suddenly.

"She'll be ok Rin, she's probably just hiding" Dan told her.

The cracking sound of thunder startled them all. A few seconds later, they heard a faint meow.

"Aiko!" Rin's eyes filled with terrified tears as she quickly stood and ran upstairs, hoping to find her cat.

Walking into her room, she squinted her eyes, trying to locate her cat in the dark room. A flash of lightning suddenly lit the room, and in a panic, Rin quickly ran to hide in her closet.

She huddled in the far corner of her closet, covering her ears, trying to shut out the frightening noises.

Dan and Yukiyo sat quietly on the couch, neither trying to start a conversation. A "meow" was suddenly heard, closer than before, seemingly coming from the kitchen.

"Go get the cat for Rin" his wife said.

Fine. If it'd make Rin happy, he'd do it. But also because he didn't really want to be around his angry wife.

He walked slowly down the hallway toward the kitchen. Trying to hear the cat again proved to be difficult, between the rolling echo of the thunder and the hard rain hitting against the windows, he doubted he'd be able to hear if the cat made a sound again.

Shining the flashlight around the kitchen, he finally caught site of the grey cat crouched atop the counter. Moving slowly so he wouldn't startle it, he walked over to the counter and was now only a foot away from the scared feline.

"Come here Aiko..."

The cat tensed and simply stared at him, unmoving.

"Come on, come here Aiko"

It still refused to move.

He jumped, startled as he heard a crackling sound and then a thunderous bang that made the house quake slightly.

The cat, also startled, arched its back and lunged at him, causing him to drop the flashlight and fall backwards, landing on his rear.

"Shit" he muttered, standing up and accidentally kicking what he assumed was the flashlight.

A shattering sound of glass breaking caused him to cover his head. After a moment, he looked around as a bolt of lightning lit up the kitchen, and he saw one of the widows had broken. A violent wind came rushing in and he briefly wondered what caused the glass to break. _'Forget the cat'_ he thought as he crawled along the floor, searching blindly for the flashlight he dropped.

"Dan?" came Yukiyo's distant cry. She must have heard the window break.

"Everything's fine!" he yelled loudly, hoping she heard him over the noises from the storm. He crawled into the hallway, still searching for the flashlight. He needed some light. His hand reached in front of him, and he felt the hard handle of the flashlight. Letting out a small sigh of relief, he clicked the button to turn on the light.

Dan swept the flashlight beam across the wooden legs of the mail table, the beige rug, a pair of sneakers by the front door... Wait, _sneakers_?

Seemingly brand-new white jogging sneakers. They certainly weren't his. They were too big to be Rins'. And his wife? Jog? Definitely not.

He stared, confused, at the neatly tied laces and then gave a startled cry as dirt from outside flew in his eyes.

He couldn't see, but he knew the front door was open. "Hello?" he squinted his eyes, quickly trying to blink away the tears as he tried to see who this person was. Panic coursed through him as he desperately tried to stand up quickly.

A cry of pain left his mouth as a blunt object hit the side of his head.

The only thoughts that formed in his head at the moment were '_Kami...please...please have mercy on my family...'_

Blood trickled down his head and he took a quick sobbing breath as the owner of the jogging sneakers stepped into the house.

The door slammed closed with a loud _'thud'_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I make any type of profit from this story. **

* * *

_ "Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance and love have no end."_

_-George W. Bush _

o~O~o

Rin stood next to a woman from child's services, watching as a man she didn't know, talked about how wonderful her parents were.

Wiping her tears away with a small napkin, her throat clenched as she fought to just _breathe_ for a moment.

Her sight was blurry because of the unshed tears threatening to spill over. Taking a moment to look around, she realized she didn't recognize anyone. Also, no one was crying. Why? Yes, some of them looked sad, but the rest looked as though coming here was a chore; something they didn't really want to do, but felt they had to.

Rin knew, like so many others knew, that time in this world was limited; that everyone dies eventually. Her mother had explained that to her one time when her pet fish had died. So yes, she knew that her parents would one day die. But still, as a child, she felt that her parents were pretty much invincible, that nothing would happen to them.

When the police officer had found her still cowering in her closet, she had immediately asked for her mom and dad. Rin didn't understand why the police officer had looked so sad at the moment. It wasn't until he brought her downstairs, carrying her and holding her head against his chest that she felt like something was wrong. He was being gentle, but he also didn't allow her to look around. Besides that, she also wondered why it wasn't one of her parents carrying her. Why were the police there anyway?

When a female officer had sat her down and, as gently as she could, told her that her parents had died, she was shocked.

She couldn't believe it. She had immediately stood up, wordlessly demanding to see her mother and father but they wouldn't let her. They didn't want her to see them like that, they said it was better to remember them the way they were.

She let the tears fall freely, wishing with all her being that this was a nightmare and that she'd wake up, home in her bed. That she'd walk downstairs to see her mother cooking breakfast; her father would smile and kiss her goodbye before leaving for work.

She suddenly became upset with the people around her. She wanted them to cry, to tell her she wouldn't be alone, to comfort her.

But no one did any of those things. Nobody but the social worker from Child Services had spoken to her.

She was alone.

o~O~o

On a street in Shinjuku lined with many rundown houses, Rin stood in front of what could only be described -in her opinion- as a haunted house.

Just looking at it gave her an uneasy feeling. It was pretty large; a two-story house. The pavement that led to the houses' front steps were cracked with weeds sprouting along it. One of the bottom windows were cracked, and she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

Looking up nervously at the social worker standing next to her, she hoped that maybe they were at the wrong house.

The social worker looked down at her and smiled softly. "Don't worry, I know it doesn't look like much, but everyone here is very nice."

The social worker, whose name Rin learned was Mei, had told her that she would be living here from now on. She had mentioned that there were other children living here too; some who had gone through what she was going through now.

It made Rin sad, to think of other people also losing their parents. She made a promise to herself that if any of them wanted or needed someone to talk to, she would be there for them. And maybe, just maybe, she'd have someone to talk to too. Though she hadn't said a word since learning about her parents death, she hoped she would eventually feel comfortable enough to talk to the others living in this home.

She did want someone to talk to, but she still refused to talk. She knew it was strange, but the few times she had tried to speak, she felt her throat close up and her chest tighten. She had felt like she was going to break down and cry. It hurt too much, so she decided to just not speak.

Mei placed a gentle hand on Rin's back, encouraging her to walk toward the front door. Moving a little closer to her, Rin walked quietly with her up to the door.

Mei rang the doorbell, and they waited patiently until the door was slowly opened with a loud creaking sound.

Rin watched as a large round woman came into view. She was smiling brightly, and Rin couldn't help but notice two missing spots in her mouth where teeth should have been. She wore a long pink dress covered in what had to be a pattern of flowers. Her eyes were such a dark shade of brown, they seemed black, and a very noticeable mole stood proudly on her cheek.

"Hello!" she said cheerily.

"Hello, I'm Mei" the social worker said politely, shaking hands with the woman. "We spoke over the phone"

"Of course, and this" the woman looked down at Rin, giving her a sickly sweet smile "must be Rin. You can call me Ms. Suzuki dear, I'm so happy to have you here and I'm sure the other children are excited about meeting you."

Rin smiled shyly, glad that the lady seemed nice.

"Well Rin" said Mei "I hope you'll be happy here." She smiled softly and placed a hand gently atop her head. "I want you to call me if you need anything ok? Ms. Suzuki has my number"

Rin nodded and smiled, grateful for her kindness.

When Mei left, the woman known as Ms. Suzuki closed the door silently. Turning to look at Rin once more, her kind smile faded and was instead replaced with a scowl. "She told me you were quiet. That's good. Stay quiet and out of my way and we won't have any problems."

With that, she walked away, leaving Rin alone. She stood there. Half of her wasn't that surprised, but the other half of her was slightly shocked.

'_I want my mommy and daddy...' _she thought sadly.

Laughter that sounded as if it was coming from upstairs broke her out of her thoughts. Not knowing what else to do, she walked slowly up the stairs, following the sound of voices.

Stopping in front of a room, she took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the door.

All laughter and talking immediately stopped when she stepped into the room.

Four children. They seemed to be about her age. Two, she realized, were demons, and the other two were human. The only reason she had recognized them as demons were because of the elfin ears and tails. They looked related, most likely brothers. Both had bright orange eyes and a tail similar to that of a tiger. Their hair was different though, while one had red hair, the other had black hair. She didn't care that they were demons, she just hoped they would be friendly.

The two humans did not look related at all. One was a girl who had light blue eyes and blonde hair. To Rin, she looked a bit pale. The other, a boy, had brown eyes and brown hair. He had caramel colored skin and freckles on his face.

She smiled shyly, feeling like she had interrupted something.

"Who're you?" asked one of the demon boys.

"Probably the new kid" his brother said.

The blonde haired girl walked over to Rin, observing her as if she were of an unknown species. "I think she's shy" she said, wrinkling her nose up as if she smelled something horrid.

The brown haired boy looked at her strangely before a look of realization crossed his face. "Hey! I heard Ms. Suzuki talkin' about her. Her parents are the ones that got killed."

He said it as if talking about the weather, and she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

"Oh I heard about that" said the demon with red hair. "They're the ones that were murdered in their house right?"

Why were they talking about this? Didn't they know how much this particular subject pained her?

"How come you're not dead?" the girl asked Rin, eyeing her clothes in distaste.

The demon with black hair looked as if he had become bored with the subject. Looking at Rin in irritation, he said, "Can you leave now? We wanna finish playing."

The others stared at her, waiting for her to leave. Rin looked downward, trying not to let them see the tears that were beginning to fall. She gave them a small nod before walking out of the room.

Walking down the hall quickly, she found a room that had a piece of paper with her name on it taped on the door. Opening the door to the room, she saw that it was very small and empty, except for a bed with an old blanket and pillow in the corner of the room.

Walking over to the bed, Rin laid down and hugged the pillow against her chest, finally letting her tears fall freely.

* * *

The dog demon rose from his office chair, stalking slowly toward the glass windows in his office. Staring down at the crowded streets, he brought a clawed hand to his temple. Migraines were a reoccurring thing for him while at work. He, like his half brother, worked for their father at Taisho Inc.

Glancing back at the pile of paperwork on his desk, he knew it was going to be a long day. Already he was craving the wonders of Advil.

His long silver hair was still damp from the shower he had taken this morning, making his neck feel cool and moist. He caught site of his own gaze in the reflection of the glass window, recognizing his own look of disinterest and detachment in the golden orbs.

Walking back over to his desk, he picked up the newspaper he grabbed this morning. He hardly read the paper, but at the moment, it was a much needed distraction from the mountain of paperwork he knew he would eventually have to look at.

Opening the newspaper, he read the first page idly. It talked about the recent murder of a man and his wife. Supposedly, the murder was so brutal; their faces distorted into something unrecognizable, that the coroner had ordered a DNA test to be done just to make sure they truly were the Yamamoto's.

Apparently their daughter had survived. There was no picture of the daughter, and there were no leads to the killer.

Sesshomaru tossed the newspaper into the garbage can by the side of his desk. In all honesty, he didn't care. He didn't know them, and even if he did, he doubted he would care. They were humans, and though he had learned to tolerate being around humans, his dislike for them did not waver.

He was often described as cold. If asked, those closest to him, who could be counted on the fingers of one hand, would have described him as reserved, frightening, but implicitly trusted.

He was not one to lie. He spoke his mind, not caring if it might hurt or unsettle someone.

His relationship with both his father and half brother was not...perfect. They were on speaking terms and at least no one was trying to kill the other. No, this wasn't the feudal area anymore; he could not go around killing those who displeased him. It was hard though, many times he had just wanted to run his claws through someone who irritated him, be it human or demon.

He eyed the newspaper for a moment before turning to his paperwork.

* * *

**(****_2 weeks later_****)**

Rin sat alone on a bench watching as the other children in the park played together. Some were playing with their parents.

Her chest tightened almost painfully as she remembered the times where her mom or dad would take her to the park. They would push her on the swings, play tag with her, or just watch her as she joined the other kids in whatever game they were playing.

She couldn't cry anymore. It seemed as if she had cried so much, that nothing would come out now. She still didn't speak to anyone at the house, and no one cared. They hadn't tried to talk to her since the first day she had arrived at the house.

Ms. Suzuki had made it very clear that she didn't care what any of them did, nor where any if them went as long as they were back there every night. When the social worker had come to check how everything was going, Ms. Suzuki had told them, no, _demanded_ they acted as happy as could be. Rin, who wouldn't say anything anyway, just stood and smiled.

Because it was summer and there was no school, and because she didn't want to be in that horrid house all day, Rin often walked around the streets of Shinjuku; looking into store windows, staring up at the tall office buildings, and watching as people laughed and talked happily.

No one ever questioned why a nine year old child was walking around alone.

She looked to her right and saw a woman smiling as she watched her son do cartwheels in the grass.

Feeling her stomach grumble, Rin placed her small hand against it. She was often hungry since there never was much to eat at the foster home, and the other children made sure they got to the food first, making sure to only leave Rin a very small amount of whatever was cooked. Even if by some miracle, Rin had gotten to the food first, it changed nothing. One of them would take her food.

Why were they so cruel to her? Had she done something to upset them? It couldn't have been anything she said, she never spoke. Even though they treated her badly, she couldn't hate them.

Today, she had only gotten a glass of milk for breakfast because the other children had decided to greedily eat all of the cereal themselves. She had a sharp pain in her stomach because of how hungry she was.

"Are you ok!? I'm coming sweetie!" she heard the woman yell before getting up and walking to her son. Rin's eyes slowly drifted back to the bench, where the woman had left her pocketbook.

She didn't want to do this, but..

Her stomach growled again.

Looking over to where the woman had gone, Rin saw her kneeling down in front of her son, facing the other direction.

Quickly, Rin walked over and opened the pocketbook, where she immediately saw a beige looking wallet. With a heavy heart, she pulled the wallet out and opened it. There were twenty dollar bills and a few fifty dollar bills. She'd be able to eat as much as she wanted.

Glancing at the woman, she saw her gently pull her son close and hug him, stoking his back to calm him down.

She felt her stomach turn; not out of hunger, but guilt. Ignoring the twenty and fifty dollar bills, Rin pulled out one five dollar bill and then quickly placed the wallet back in the bag.

'_I'm sorry'_ she mouthed, walking out if the park. No, she didn't take a lot of money, she only took a five dollar bill, but that wasn't the point. She knew stealing was wrong, her parents taught her that. But what else could she do? Ms. Suzuki had ripped the paper that had the social worker, Mei's, number. On top if that, even if she was allowed to use the phone, what would she say? She didn't, _wouldn't_, speak. It was almost like even if she wanted to, she simply couldn't.

'_I'm so sorry'_ she thought sadly, hating herself at the moment for doing such a thing.

'_I'll never take a lot' _she told herself as she walked, fully intending to get something to eat.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha nor do I make any type of profit from this story, blah, blah, blah. **

* * *

_ "Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart."_

_-Marcus Aurelius_

o~O~o

**(****_1 month later_****)**

Sesshomaru growled in annoyance when, once again, Inuyasha didn't pick up the phone. He gave up trying to call him, and instead tossed his phone to the back seat.

"Damn half breed" he muttered to himself as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

His father had called, asking that he call Inuyasha and tell him to get to the office because he was late..again. That wasn't anything new.

Well if his father wanted Inuyasha to get to work, he would have to get in touch with him himself.

Parking his car in front of the company's building, he stepped out of the car, turning to see the small green imp wobbling toward him.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" he yelled. Even though he had told Jaken to call him Mr. Takahashi now, the toad still had trouble not addressing him as "lord".

o~O~o

Rin walked slowly, rubbing her stomach in a circular motion. She hadn't eaten yet today and wasn't able to eat anything but breakfast yesterday. So that meant she was going to have to steal. Again. She still felt guilty about it, sometimes even losing sleep thinking about it. But she didn't want to stop. She was feeling so much better these days because she was finally getting enough to eat. The shop keepers usually got irritated when she wouldn't tell them what she wanted, but instead pointed at the things she wanted.

Looking around at the crowds of people, she searched for someone that looked, well...wealthy. She didn't take a lot from people, continuously only taking five dollars. And if the person had no five dollar bills, she'd only take one dollar. No, it was not a lot, but it kept her fed.

Occasionally though, she would wander here. To the "business area" of Shinjuku. The streets were filled with buildings that towered over everyone. She only came here when she was desperate, taking from wealthy people more than what she would take from others.

Looking around, she spotted a car. A very expensive looking car. She watched as a tall man with long silver hair stepped out of it, placing a briefcase on the ground.

_'An old man'_ she thought, staring at the silver hair. She couldn't see his face because he was looking in another direction. Following his gaze, Rin saw a small green creature running toward the man.

'_A...frog?'_ she wondered.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" the creature yelled.

'_A talking frog?'_ she thought in astonishment. It took her another moment to realize it was a demon. But, didn't it say Lord Sesshomaru? The old man was a lord? So that meant he was really rich right?

"Silence Jaken." came a deep voice that she assumed belonged to the man, Sesshomaru.

"Of course milord, allow me to take your briefcase" he squawked.

The old man seemed to ignore him, and to Rin's surprise, the old man _stepped_ on the creature.

_'A mean old man' _

Ok so maybe the toad...demon...frog..._thing_, had a bit of an annoying voice. But that was no reason to step on him right?

She eyed the briefcase curiously. What were in briefcases anyway? Watching the small creature struggle with it, she made a decision.

The old man was rich, so he could just buy a new one right?

She ran, only to stop momentarily to pull the case out of the demons' tiny green hands, which she realized was pretty easy.

Taking firm hold of the handle part of the briefcase, she began to run again.

"Stop you foolish human!" she heard.

_'Sorry'_ she thought, running between a crowd of people.

She continued running as fast as her small legs could carry her until she ran right into..a wall? What was a wall doing in the middle of the sidewalk?

Taking a small step back, she looked and saw it wasn't a wall, it was a person. Well, the legs of a person. She was staring at someones legs.

Slowly looking up, seeing a expensive looking suit, brown eyes met golden ones.

_'Uh oh..' _

Well he was definitely _not_ an old man.

A demon.

Great.

She stole something that was a demons'. Was he going to kill her? He did look irritated...and also, amused? He wasn't smiling though, so maybe she was wrong. She looked at his other features. Two elegant magenta markings on each cheek, pointed ears, and crescent moon marking on his forehead.

Sesshomaru studied the small human child that stood staring up at him in a mixture of shock, curiosity, and slight nervousness. However, she was not afraid. Strange.

He didn't know whether to be angry or amused. He was angry because this small human thought she could steal from _him_; amused because of all the things she would try to steal, she stole a briefcase that contained paperwork.

Rin waited. For what, she didn't know. What was he going to do? He was just staring at her. In the back of her mind, she knew that she should just drop the case and run. But the sharp pain in her stomach was becoming worse; she needed to eat.

He reached a clawed hand out and grabbed the side of the briefcase, but didn't take it away from her. She became slightly confused, wondering why he didn't just take it.

He glared at her, and she defiantly returned his glare, tightening her grip on the suitcase, refusing to let it go.

Sesshomaru smirked, now thoroughly amused.

"I can't tell if you're brave for trying to steal from me, or just stupid." he said, watching with interest as she looked down, seeming ashamed of what she had done. But still, she didn't let go of the briefcase.

He briefly wondered why she wasn't saying anything. She wasn't scared, so that wasn't the reason.

"I doubt your parents would approve of thievery."

A pained look crossed her face then, and before he even had time to wonder why, she quickly released her hold on the suitcase and ran.

Sesshomaru watched as she disappeared into the crowd of people.

* * *

Rin ran until she was a good distance away from the demon.

She knew what she was doing was wrong, and she knew that if her parents were still alive, they most definitely would not approve.

But hearing that from someone else hurt. And now, she had nothing to buy food with.

Sighing, she slowly walked 'home', hoping there was at least something to eat there.

o~O~o

Rin stared in disbelief.

_Food_.

There was actually food still in there! It was most likely because the other children weren't even home, but she didn't care.

Grabbing a bowl of macaroni, she sat at the kitchen table alone, enjoying each and every bite of food she took.

Only after her bowl was practically licked clean, did she wash the dish and head upstairs to her room. A nap sounded good at the moment.

* * *

Sesshomaru read over a document, barely registering what he was reading.

Hearing a small knock on the door, he sighed. slightly grateful for a distraction. "Enter."

He didn't bother looking up from the contract, he knew from the scent that it was Jaken.

"M-my lord" he sputtered nervously. Bowing low on the floor, he yelled, "Please forgive me milord! I should not have allowed that foolish human to-"

"Jaken."

"Yes milord?"

"Leave." His migraine was already starting and he did not want the irritating imps' voice making it worse.

After Jaken left, Sesshomaru's thoughts drifted to the small child. Why was she trying to steal? Where were her parents? If they weren't there, why did they allow her to walk around alone?

Was he worrying about her?

_'No. I am merely curious'_

Yes, curious. That was a good word for it. Also, why hadn't she spoken?

It annoyed him that he was even thinking of her, but at the same time, and for a reason unknown to him, he wanted answers to his questions.

His eyes narrowed as he rubbed his temple. It was better to just forget about that foolish human.

It wasn't like he'd ever see her again.

* * *

Rin bolted upright in bed, gasping.

_'A dream'_ she thought, relieved.

She sat still for a moment, breathing heavily. She had been having nightmares a lot since the death of her parents. In these nightmares, she would hear them, screaming out in pain. And sometimes, she would faintly hear laughing. Not the kind of laughing that someone would do if they were told something funny; it sounded dark, almost as if the person was insane.

Simply thinking about it caused her to shiver slightly in fear. Again she wished her mother and father were here with her, to comfort her and tell her it'd be alright.

Laying back down, Rin pulled her thin blanket up to her chin as she tried to get comfortable. She felt so empty inside. Nobody cared about her anymore, and nobody wanted her around anymore.

Placing a small hand on her stomach, she remembered what the demon had said. That her parents wouldn't approve of thievery. If her parents were here, what would they think? Nothing pleasant she was sure.

It wasn't like she _wanted_ to steal, she just felt like she had to. Her stomach felt as if it was twisting in knots as she thought about how many people she had stolen from. Why did things have to be so hard?

She closed her eyes, hoping to fall back asleep, though she knew she probably wouldn't be able to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and I don't make any type of profit from this story. **

* * *

_ "Each meeting occurs at the precise moment for which it was meant. Usually, when it will have the greatest impact on our lives."_

_― Nadia Scrieva _

o~O~o

Rin moaned, swinging her arm over her eyes to cover them from the stream of sun-light coming from the window. She blinked, shut her eyes, and then blinked again. Sitting up, she yawned and then looked around her small room, squinting her eyes as she tried to adjust to the dim bedroom light.

What time was it?

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood and started walking toward her door to go downstairs.

Once in the hallway, she looked around before tip-toeing towards and then down the steps. Ms. Suzuki wouldn't care where Rin went, but she was always very cranky in the morning, and Rin didn't want to wake her up.

When she got downstairs, she first looked at the digital clock and saw it was twelve n the afternoon.

_'I don't usually sleep this late'_ she thought.

Walking over toward the refrigerator, she wasn't at all surprised when she saw there was nothing to eat. Sighing, she decided to go out again.

o~O~o

Sitting on one of the swings Rin ignored the pain in her stomach. She didn't want to steal anymore, she didn't want to feel guilty anymore, she didn't want to be _lonely_ anymore.

Maybe someone would adopt her. Children in foster homes could be adopted right?

She knew that if she ever was adopted, they would never take the place of her real parents. But to be wanted again, loved again...

She wanted that.

* * *

"Lord Sesshomaru is very busy you foolish half demon!"

"Does it look like I care? Move out of my way!"

Sesshomaru sighed silently and pushed aside the large pile of paperwork he had been working on. He was pleased that he hadn't had a migraine as of yet, and hoped the two occupants outside his office door wouldn't continue being so loud.

He stood just as his half brother barged in, leaving a sputtering imp behind.

"Sesshomaru I need your help" he said quickly, frantically looking around the office.

Sesshomaru merely raised an eyebrow. What sort of trouble did he get himself into this time?

"You gotta hide me ok?" Inuyasha walked around Sesshomaru's desk, looking to see if he would be able to fit under it.

"Inuyasha. What is the meaning of this foolishness?" Sesshomaru asked, growing slightly annoyed.

"It's Kagome, she-"

"INUYASHA!"

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. He dove under the desk right as the office door was swung open.

"I saw you Inuyasha! Get out here now. How many times do I have to tell you stop breaking my alarm clocks? That's the fifth one this week!"

Inuyasha's voice came from under the desk, sounding a bit muffled. "I told you not to get those damn things wench"

Kagome turned her attention to her brother-in law and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I know this is your office but could you give us a minute?"

Sesshomaru would have said 'no' immediately, but honestly he wanted to get out of the office for a few minutes. He nodded his head slightly, "Do not break anything."

Walking out of his office, it wasn't until he had stepped in the elevator that he heard a very loud "SIT BOY", followed by a loud _'thud'_.

* * *

Rin once again found herself in the business district of Shinjuku. Not able to ignore the pain in her stomach anymore, she decided to come here one more time.

She was still hesitating though. She really didn't want to do this.

Looking around the crowded streets quickly, she made sure the silver haired demon wasn't around. She was pretty sure he wasn't.

Looking around once more, she saw a man with long black hair by an alleyway. He was dressed in a black suit and had a briefcase very similar to the silver haired demons'. He seemed to be very caught up in a phone call at the moment.

After another sharp pain in her stomach, she decided not to wait anymore. Quickly, she walked toward the man, making sure she wasn't in his line of vision.

Once she was close enough, she slowly reached a hand out toward the black briefcase...

Only to be stopped by a pale hand grabbing her wrist tightly.

Looking up in shock, Rin's eyes widened at the red eyes staring back at her.

The man backed her up slightly and grabbed her around the throat with his other hand.

He said nothing but smiled cruelly at her. She glared at him but did nothing more. She didn't cry out, nor did she try to fight him off. In the back of her mind she knew she should, but death didn't scare her at the moment. She often wondered, if she died, would she get to see her mother and father again?

The man's smile grew slightly wider as his grip loosened slightly. "Tell me, is your life so unbearable that you seem to welcome death instead of fear it?"

His grip around her throat once again tightened when she didn't answer him. "Allow me to put an end to your suffering.."

Her body wanted to claw at him, hit him, get away from him. But she forced herself to stay still. Just as she felt like she was about to lose consciousness, she heard a very deep, very familiar voice.

"Release her."

She felt the grip on her release immediately. Falling to her knees on the ground, she gasped for breath and looked up to see the silver haired demon.

"Ah, Sesshomaru. Do you know this young girl?" the black haired man asked.

Sesshomaru didn't answer him. Instead, he was trying to control his inner beast that was clawing to get out, wanting nothing more than to kill the half demon. He didn't know why he had come to the girls rescue, but when he caught the half demons scent and followed it, he saw the disgusting half demon trying to choke the small human child.

Rage boiled in him, and he clenched both his jaw and hands, causing his claws to dig into his skin.

Jaken waddled up beside him. A small boxed lunch in his green hands showed he was going to eat his lunch soon. Jaken looked around at everyone, confused as to what happened.

"Naraku. You have kept my father waiting long enough."

Naraku's smile immediately fell. "Is that why you came out here then? I did not intend to be late for the meeting. I'll be on my way now."

He walked away, not bothering to look back at any of them.

Sesshomaru watched as the small girl stood, avoiding eye contact with him. She said nothing as she turned and began slowly walking away.

"Jaken"

"Yes milord?" he asked, eager to please.

Why was he doing this? Surely he was not worried about the human.

"Follow her."

"B-but Lord Sesshomaru why-"

Before he could say another word, Sesshomaru stepped on him, walking toward the company building.

* * *

Jaken sat in the bushes at the small park, frowning as he watched the foolish human just sit there on the bench.

How long had he been here watching her? An hour?

Placing his very small boxed lunch on his lap, he briefly wondered why he was here in the first place. Was lord Sesshomaru so mad that the girl tried to steal from h that he planned on killing her?

Rin swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the bench. She didn't know why she enjoyed being here, especially when watching the other children with their parents made her feel more alone than ever.

She often thought about what the girl from the foster home had said on her first day there: "Why aren't you dead?"

It was because she hid in a closet, because she left her parents alone.

_'I should be dead'_ she thought sadly. If she had stayed with them on the couch instead if going upstairs, she'd most likely be dead just like them.

Placing her hands over her eyes, she cried silently.

Jaken watched as the young girl cried. What happened to make her cry? She was just sitting there..

He didn't like watching her cry. It caused a strange feeling to bubble up inside him, making him want to go over there and comfort her.

"Stupid human" he whispered to himself.

And then he heard it.

No, his hearing was definitely not as good as Sesshomaru's, or even Inuyasha's, but the sound was rather loud.

He heard her stomach growl.

Was that why she was crying? Was she starving? Holding his boxed lunch tightly, he quietly waddled over to the small girl. Not wanting her to see him, he gently slid the box, as silently as he could, in the spot next to her. He then quickly ran back to the bushes.

After a few minutes, he saw the girl wipe away some of her tears before finally noticing the box.

Jaken watched as she hesitantly reached for the it and then gently opened the lid. He was very pleased with himself when he saw a small smile form on her lips.

She then looked around, and Jaken made sure to stay very still. After a few moments of looking, he saw her mouth the words 'thank you' and he immediately felt a slightly warm feeling creep through his small body.

Turning away from the human with a "huff", Jaken began walking away, intent on telling his lord where the girl could be found.

It wasn't like he felt bad for the human...

_'I just wasn't that hungry'_

"Foolish humans" he muttered to himself. Why did he do such a thing? And for the same human that tried to steal from Sesshomaru!

_'Oh no..' _His eyes widened. Would lord Sesshomaru kill him if he found out what he did?

Running around in a circle frantically, he began yelling "LORD SESSHOMARU PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

* * *

The next day was pretty normal for Rin. She woke up a little late, which was normal. She tip-toed downstairs, which again, was normal. No food in the refrigerator? Pretty normal. And she went to the park again, which was also normal.

Basically, this started out as a very normal day.

But seeing a tall silver haired demon walk up to you in the park?

Well, that wasn't what she'd call normal.

Rin fidgeted on the bench as she watched the demon slowly walk toward her.

'_Is he going to yell at me?'_ she thought nervously. She did try to steal from him after all. How did he know she was here anyway?

When he finally was in front of her, both did nothing but stare at the other.

Sesshomaru asked himself for the hundredth time since starting the walk here, why exactly he was doing this. She was just some pathetic human child.

He noticed that she did however, smell better than all the other humans he had the displeasure of being around. In fact, she even smelled better than any demon he had come across. She smelled like cherry blossoms...and vanilla? Whatever it was, he found the smell pleasing.

He didn't know what to say or do, because he really didn't know why he was here. Also, she wasn't saying anything. He was not someone who started or engaged in conversations, so he found it ironic that he actually had to carry on the burden of making conversation with this child.

"I assume you've learned your lesson after yesterday's incident" he said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

She said nothing, but began looking everywhere else but him.

He couldn't fathom why, but he had become angry with her for putting herself in danger like that.

"What is your name?" he asked. Not that he cared or anything...he was just curious.

Still, she said nothing. Was she a mute? Or did she just not want to talk to him?

Sesshomaru sighed silently and looked at his wristwatch. He had to get back to work. He looked at the small human. Was she just going to stay here? Was she going to attempt to steal again? He probably wouldn't be able to help her again if she got into trouble.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out his wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. He decided not to try and think about why he was taking an interest in this small girl. Perhaps she intrigued him. He didn't know, and it proved to be useless to try to think of a reason.

Holding out the twenty dollar bill to her, he became slightly amused when she looked at him and a bemused expression came over her features.

"So you will not foolishly try to attempt to steal again."

Her eyes widened slightly as she gave him a small nod and accepted the money.

Sesshomaru then turned away from her and started walking, but stopped for a moment to look back at her.

"You will come here tomorrow at the same time."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Nope I do not own Inuyasha and nope I do not make anyyy type of profit from this story. **

* * *

_ "Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves."_

_-James M. Barrie_

o~O~o

**(****_2 Days Later_****)**

Rin walked along the sidewalk, a satisfied smile on her face as she rubbed her tummy. For once, she was actually feeling full. This was the third day she met Sesshomaru at the park, and he had once again given her some money. She didn't know why he was being so kind to her, but she was grateful. She had went to a small store, pointed at what she wanted, and enjoyed a sandwich.

She still didn't smile or talk when she was with him, but he didn't seem to mind.

Rin truly felt happy. She didn't really feel lonely with him, and she didn't have to steal anymore.

Opening the front door, she was greeted by Ms. Suzuki, who had a very uncharacteristic look of worry on her face.

"Oh Rin! There you are! I was so worried"

_'Weird'_ Rin thought. Was the social worker here today?

"There's two people here who want to meet you" she smiled.

Rin grew even more confused. Who would want to meet her?

Following Ms. Suzuki into the living room, Rin saw a man and woman sitting on the couch talking to each other.

"Here she is" Ms. Suzuki said happily.

"Oh!" The woman looked slightly surprised. Looking over at Rin, she smiled gently and stood to walk over to her.

Bending down, the woman said kindly, "Hi Rin, my name is Anna" she then pointed toward the man who was also smiling. "And that's my husband, Tai"

"Hello" Tai said, giving her a small wave.

Rin smiled shyly and waved back.

"I've heard so much about you from Mei. She's an old friend of mine. She only says good things about you and she knew we were looking to adopt, and well.." Anna said "I know we've only just met, but me and my husband were wondering if maybe we could adopt you. It would take a while, but then we'd be able to get to know each other more. We want you to be part of our family, but only if you'd want to too"

Rin's eyes widened in shock. Someone wanted to adopt her? Make her part of her family?

_'Family..'_ A huge smile spread across her face as she leaped forward to hug Anna.

Anna laughed and hugged her back. "It will probably take about two months because of all the paperwork, but then you can come home with us" she said happily. "We live in Kobe, it's three hours away if we take the bullet train, but we'll be back to visit."

Rin nodded, still smiling and hugging Anna tightly.

o~O~o

Rin walked happily toward her room only stopping when she saw Brianna, the blonde haired girl who was mean to her the first time she came to the house. She was standing in front of Rin's door with a frown on her face, spinning the wheels of a wooden train with her finger.

Looking up from her toy, Brianna narrowed her eyes at Rin.

"Why?"

Rin stood still, completely confused as to why Brianna seemed so mad. She hadn't been around her at all today. In fact, she hardly ever saw her.

"Why do you get to be adopted?" she hissed.

Rin still only stared at her, still confused for the moment.

'_Is she jealous because they wanted to adopt me?' _Rin suddenly felt bad for Brianna.

'_Maybe she's sad because she wants a family' _she thought. She couldn't help but look sadly at Brianna. She knew how she felt.

"Don't look at me like that!" Brianna yelled, throwing the wooden train at Rin; hitting Rin on her cheek. Brianna then turned on her heel and walked away.

Tears filled Rin's eyes as she gently touched her cheek. Everything she did in this house seemed to make someone upset.

'_It's ok, only two months'_

* * *

Sesshomaru watched as the human child walked up to him. He had come to the park a little earlier than usual. He noticed a dark mark marring her cheek. It was only when she got closer did he ask about the bruise.

"Where did you get that bruise?"

She seemed surprised that he asked. She was staring at him with a questioning look.

"You don't have to tell me."

She smiled then. A wide smile that seemed to light up her whole face, and Sesshomaru was slightly confused when he felt as if warmth was spreading throughout his chest.

Looking away from her, he felt the need to say, "I was merely curious."

They then sat in comfortable silence, that is until a certain green imp came walking over.

"Lord Sesshomaru! I have what you have requested for milord!"

Rin looked at the green demon and saw that he was holding a small box in his hands. He handed it to Sesshomaru, and she couldn't help but look closer in curiosity.

Sesshomaru examined the box for a moment. _'Jaken had better have picked out something suitable.' _

"Here." He said, holding out the box toward her. He still wasn't looking at her; instead deciding to stare at the playground.

Again she was surprised. When was the last time someone had given her a gift? Taking the box out of his hand, she slowly opened it and a small gasp left her mouth as she looked at what was inside.

A sundress.

It was a cute orange sundress with white flowers lining the bottom of it. She grew slightly embarrassed thinking of how he must have realized she only had two pairs of clothing because Ms. Suzuki didn't allow her to have any more, but she couldn't stop smiling. The dress was beautiful.

Sesshomaru watched as she examined the dress. She seemed pleased. Good. That meant he didn't have to kill Jaken today.

"What is your name?" he asked in curiosity. He had asked each time he saw her, but each time, she didn't answer.

Rin gently touched the sundress. Why was he so kind to her? She couldn't understand it, but at the same time it was easier not to try to understand it.

Suddenly she _wanted_ to talk to him, to tell him how grateful she was, to thank him for his kindness, to apologize for trying to steal from him.

It was strange, she had only known him for a couple of days, yet she felt that she was comfortable enough to try to talk to him.

"Rin" she whispered, her voice sounding strange to her after being silent for so long.

His eyes widened slightly, surprised she had actually spoken.

"My name is Rin Yamamoto"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Inuyasha. And no, I do not make a profit from this story. **

* * *

"_Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting."_

_-J.M. Barrie_

o~O~o

** (****_2 months later_****)**

Rin hummed happily as she walked behind Sesshomaru and next to the cranky toad. Today, she wanted to walk around the shopping district. She had always liked looking at everything around here.

"Why are you so happy Rin?" Jaken asked in annoyance. He wondered why lord Sesshomaru was even allowing her annoying humming.

"My birthday is tomorrow" she said happily. She didn't tell them that today she was going to be leaving with Anna and her husband. She didn't want to tell them because honestly, it was sad to think she wouldn't be able to see them everyday anymore. She would miss both Sesshomaru and Jaken a lot.

"I'm gonna be ten! Ooh look! That's so pretty"

Sesshomaru stopped walking to glance at what she was looking at. It was a wooden music box with a golden design of three flowers on the top.

"My mom used to have a music box she'd play for me each night before I fell asleep.." she said, remembering how she watched the small ballerina figure twirl in circles inside the box as the music played.

"We're leaving Rin" Sesshomaru said as he began walking again. He remembered how she had told him what happened to her parents, and he also remembered what he read about what happened in the newspaper. He had agreed that it was better she didn't see her parents like that, though he never voiced that opinion.

When he realized she was the daughter that survived, he grew angry that someone broke into her home and caused her so much pain. He had immediately found himself thinking about how to torture and kill someone he'd never even seen before.

When they had arrived at the park, Rin tried not to show how sad she felt. This would probably be the last time she'd ever see them. But maybe it was for the best.

**_-Flashback-_**

Sesshomaru had to stay at work because of a business conference, so he had sent Jaken to watch over Rin for a little while.

"Jaken?" Rin said as she plucked a purple flower and twirled it between her fingers.

"It's master Jaken to you" he chided.

She rolled her eyes. Having become used to his attitude, she often ignored it. She liked teasing him because she often found his reactions very funny.

"How long will Sesshomaru be gone?"

Jaken quickly stood up and pointed a green boney finger at her. "It's LORD Sesshomaru you foolish girl!"

Plucking one if the petals off the flower, she asked again, "When is Mr. Sesshomaru coming?"

Jaken plopped down on the grown and closed his eyes. Honestly, why did lord Sesshomaru even bother spending time with this child?

"You'll see him tomorrow. He had a business meeting today" he answered.

Rin pouted. She enjoyed spending time with Sesshomaru even though he didn't talk much.

"Though I don't know why he'd come back. That silly girl is such a nuisance" Jaken muttered to himself. He was only saying that because he was in a rather bad mood today. In truth, he didn't mind being around the girl. He had a sort of soft spot for her, but he refused to show or admit it.

Unbeknownst to him, Rin had heard what he said.

"Jaken?"

"What?" he grumbled.

"Do I.." she took a moment to chose her words carefully. "Do I take away time from Mr. Sesshomaru's job?"

Jaken looked up to watch a small cloud drift by. "He would certainly get more work done if he didn't have to spend time with you" he answered.

"Oh" she said sadly. He was so kind to her, and she was taking up his time. She didn't want to be a nuisance like Jaken had said.

**_-End Of Flashback-_**

Looking at the small green demon and then up at the tall demon, she took a moment to memorize their features.

"Um, I was wondering Mr. Sesshomaru"

"What is it?" he asked, looking down at her. She was smiling, but scented of nervousness.

"If...if I were to go away forever, would you always remember me?"

Sesshomaru's eyes widened and his jaw became slack for only a moment, surprised she had asked such a question.

He turned his gaze away from her. "Don't say such silly things."

Because truly it was silly. Where would she go? And he certainly wasn't going anywhere. He knew some foster homes sent some children to a different foster home from time to time, but that wasn't something he'd allow to happen to her.

He couldn't adopt her though; he did not see her at all as a daughter. Inuyasha and his mate probably wouldn't have room or be able to take her since they already adopted that fox child, and there was no one else he could trust to take care of her.

Rin only smiled, seemingly satisfied with his answer. Staring at them a moment longer, Rin then waved to them before turning to leave.

* * *

Only a half an hour later, Sesshomaru was back in his office reading over a few business proposals.

Since meeting Rin, he had become increasingly more lenient. For example, if someone made a mistake, he didn't immediately fire them; he simply glared for a few moments and told the person to not let it happen again. Though on some occasions, he couldn't help but threaten and fire a few 'incompetent fools.'

His father, among others, had noticed his slight change in demeanor.

Another change, that was apparently more noticeable, was the fact that he actually left work during his lunch break; whereas he used to sit in his office through lunch just to finish off work quickly. This was something his father had been obviously intrigued with.

**_-Flashback-_**

"And where are you going?" InuTaisho asked when he saw his eldest son leaving the building.

"That is none of your concern father."

InuTaisho raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Well I'm on my lunch break as well. May I join you?"

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes slightly "I'd prefer to go alone"

"Oh, going to see a lady perhaps?" Honestly, he truly enjoyed teasing his eldest son.

"Father, do you have nothing better to do than question me?"

_ 'That wasn't a no'_ InuTaisho thought happily. Turning and walking away from his son, he teasingly yelled over his shoulder, "I do expect grandchildren soon!"

He laughed aloud when he heard Sesshomaru growl.

**_-End Of Flashback-_**

Sesshomaru knew he couldn't tell anyone about how he spent that time with the small child. They would think he had become soft.

It wasn't like he cared for the girl.

_'She merely intrigues me'_

* * *

Rin hurriedly grabbed her box that held both her beautiful sundress and her second pair of clothing. There were also a few pictures of her parents in there as well as a few toys from her old home.

Walking down the creaky wooden steps, she smiled happily at seeing Tai waiting at the bottom.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Mhm!" she said, holding up the box.

"I'll hold that for you. Anna is waiting outside"

Rin handed Tai the box before running outside and over to Anna. She stopped when she was in front of her and smiled widely.

"Are you excited Rin?" Anna asked, smiling at how happy she looked.

"Yes, I'm really happy"

Anna reached out, wrapping her arms around the small girl to hug her. "I'm happy too Rin"

Tai came out of the house, box in hand. "I'm gonna put this in the trunk. Everybody in, it's a long drive to Kobe"

Anna winked at Rin before looking at her husband, "Tai, we are stopping to get a few snacks right? I'm really craving candy right now"

"I don't know, it's a very long drive and-"

"Tai" Anna chided.

"And I also think it would be a wonderful idea to stop for snacks"

Both Rin and Anna giggled before getting in the car.

After a few minutes of sitting in the car and watching the passing houses, Rin saw that they were now driving passed the park she regularly went to.

She felt terrible for not telling Jaken and Sesshomaru that she was leaving, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Rin's eyes brimmed with tears as she thought about the times they spent together. She would miss them a lot, but now, she wouldn't be a nuisance like Jaken said. She was going to be part of a family again.

She was happy. And she hoped they'd be happy too.

* * *

Sesshomaru, for the second time this day, found himself in the very area he had been only hours ago.

Passing shop after shop, golden eyes surveyed each object he saw through the shop windows.

It baffled him...this need to see her happy. He had no logical explanation for it, nor for his current actions, but it didn't matter as long as the child continued to smile.

He refused to admit to even himself that he might indeed like the girl, as a companion of sorts. He definitely found her to be better company than Jaken.

Stopping in front of one particular store, he looked through the window and saw the music box Rin had liked.

Sesshomaru walked over to the entrance and pulled open the door.

She did mention tomorrow was her birthday...

o~O~o

**(****_The Next Day_****) **

Sesshomaru sat at his desk, once again checking the time on his wristwatch.

_'10 more minutes'_

He didn't know why, but he had been having a bad feeling all day. It troubled him, and he was rather anxious to see Rin today.

_'Just to make sure she is ok' _

Looking to the right of his desk, he placed a clawed hand atop the wrapped box and pulled it closer to him. It was Rin's birthday present and he was rather proud if himself for getting it for her, though it had been expensive. The woman had even insisted on wrapping it. He didn't understand why, but he allowed her to. It was no surprise to him when the woman charged extra just for taping a large decorated piece of paper to it. He decided not to kill the woman, since he was sure Rin would be extremely happy when she opened it. She would definitely be pleased when she saw what it was.

He was also planning on getting her another treat for her birthday. Children enjoyed ice cream right? He wasn't entirely sure; before he met Rin, he had never cared nor bothered to inquire as to what children enjoyed.

Sesshomaru once again glanced at his wristwatch. Seeing that there was only two minutes left, he stood, grabbing the wrapped present before walking out of his office.

o~O~o

Sesshomaru sat on the park bench, staring at the entrance Rin usually came from.

How long had he been waiting here? Checking the time, he realized he had been waiting here for nearly forty minutes. He was becoming impatient.

Rin never took this long to get here. On occasion, the longest he'd have to wait was only five minutes. Did she forget to come? Unlikely. They had been meeting here everyday after all.

So then why wasn't she here? Did something happen to her?

A sort of uneasiness welled up inside him as the possibility that something happened to her crossed his mind.

He stood up quickly and decided to make his way out if the park and toward the foster home. He had never been there, nor did she ever tell him where it was, but it was the closest one around here.

o~O~o

Sesshomaru looked at the house in disdain. Honestly he couldn't fathom how the girl kept her cheerful attitude even when living _here_.

Walking up to the door, he rang the doorbell.

A rather...obese woman opened the door. She looked irritated for only a moment, but immediately smiled when she saw him.

Sesshomaru watched in disgust as she pushed her arms together to make her chest look larger.

_'Disgusting.'_

"Oh why hello" she said, "how may I help you?"

"I'm looking for Rin."

"Who?" she asked distractedly as her eyes wandered down his form.

Growing increasingly irritated, he narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly, "I'm looking for Rin"

Ms. Suzuki frowned slightly. Why was he looking for that brat? "I'm sorry but she's not here"

He could tell she wasn't lying. Rin's scent lingered here, but it was not strong.

"Where is she?" He was growing even more impatient.

"Excuse me?"

"_Where is my Rin_" he growled. He was so caught up in his anger, he didn't notice he referred to the girl as being 'his'.

"I don't know" she answered, becoming frightened. It was not a total lie; she didn't know exactly where in Kobe Rin was.

Seshomaru merely stared at her a moment longer, his golden eyes so intimidating, she felt a cold chill of fear run up and down her spine. The only indication of his anger was both the narrowing of his eyes and how they flashed red for a moment.

He stared at the woman in both disgust and loathing. He was debating whether to get away from the vile human or simply kill her.

He quickly made his decision. He needed to find Rin.

"If she is harmed in any way, you will die."

Sesshomaru turned away from the woman to leave, not wanting to waste any more time.

He had to find Rin.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and I don't make any profit from this story. **

* * *

_ "No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow."_

_-Euripides_

o~O~o

Jennifer Ito turned the flashlight she was holding off and placed her book on her night-table. She had gotten used to this. Their electricity went out almost every month because her mom couldn't afford to pay the bill on time. She knew her mom tried her best, and being a single mom certainly didn't make it any easier.

_'Of course the electricity has to go out on my birthday..' _she thought disappointedly.

She was eighteen years old as of today. Her mom had gone out to buy her favorite type of cake: ice cream cake.

Jennifer, unlike a lot of teenagers her age, would spend her birthdays with her mom, eating cake, playing games, or just going out to the movies. She didn't mind really, she loved her mom. But she did wish she had friends who would want to hang out or throw a party for her birthday.

That wasn't going to happen any time soon though. She had no friends.

Of course she couldn't blame them for not wanting to be friends with her. After all, she couldn't speak, laugh, tell jokes or secrets. She had been born mute because her vocal chords hadn't developed properly.

It was frustrating, to want to sing, to laugh, or to want to explain what your feeling, but no words come out. She also had to be homeschooled because the one year she tried going to a public school was horrible. The other students constantly made fun of her, taking advantage of the fact she couldn't speak, and therefore wouldn't be able to yell for a teacher. She had gotten depressed because of how she was treated there. It wasn't her fault she was born this way, so why did they have to be so mean?

Jennifer stretched her arms over her head and yawned. Standing up from her comfy bed, she walked over to her dresser and rummaged through one of the drawers. Grabbing the article of clothing she was looking for, she put on the sweater her mother had bought her last Christmas. For a summer night, it was pretty cold out. The sky had been dark all day, like it was going to rain, though it hadn't yet.

Deciding to grab something to drink, she walked into the kitchen, not needing the flashlight at the moment. She could still see everything because it wasn't completely dark. A sudden gust of wind stirred the milky white curtains.

_'The window is open?'_ she didn't remember opening it at all today. But maybe her mom had opened it to let some fresh air in the house. Going over to the window, where the curtains billowed against her face, she pulled it closed and looked outside. It had started raining, but it seemed like it would only be a drizzle. The glass held the steam from her breath, and she wiped it clean with the sleeve of her sweater. How long was her mom going to take? It was just ice cream cake. Maybe there was traffic?

The front door suddenly blew open, and Jennifer ran to close it. It took a minute for her to close it because of how hard the wind was blowing against it. Finally the door closed with a _'click'_ and she leaned against it, breathing hard. She hugged herself, becoming slightly nervous. The house had become darker. She caught a sudden movement from the corner of her eye and turned, looking around uncertainly.

Hadn't she just seen someone walking in the hallway? She must have been seeing things.

_'Calm down'_ she thought to herself_ 'You're not a little girl anymore. You're eighteen'_

But still...

She quickly went back into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. _'Just in case' _she thought.

Holding the knife tightly, she walked slowly toward the hallway. Standing quietly for a moment, she listened.

Nothing.

Rolling her eyes and then closing them she leaned against the wall for a moment. _'I'm such a baby'_

She felt the blow against her head, swift and furious, then stood in complete shock. _'Oh God...'_ Blood ran down her face as she staggered forward toward the living room, where, in a blind panic, she dove behind the sofa. She crouched there for what seemed like hours, shaking in terror while outside the wind made a frightening whistling sound.

_'Mom!'_ she tried to scream, but of course, nothing came out.

Something then struck the back of her head, making the knife she was holding fly out of her hand. A fist was now dragging her by the roots of her hair as she kicked and clawed at the hand. She tried screaming but no sound came. She continued thrashing and finally broke loose, but another blow impacted her forehead and her eyes filled with blood. She whirled around and flailed at shadows, staggering backwards, and to her horror, tripping over a shoe that was left on the floor.

She looked around frantically, blinking the blood out of her eyes. Looking up, she saw the outline of a looming figure standing over her, and she could make out the small glint of the knife in his hand that she had dropped.

Fear like she never felt before, consumed her. Taking a deep breath, she prayed she would be able to make a sound, just this once so someone could hear her, save her.

Her first and final scream died in her throat as the sharp knife sliced through her neck.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha nor do I make a profit from this story **

**Note- So I just wanted to say thank you to the people who left reviews :) Honestly I wasn't too sure how this story would be turning out because I'm trying something very different in this story than what I'm doing with my other one, so reviews (good or bad) do help, so thank you :) **

**-KewlFoxyKatt: I'm sorry if you didn't like the last chapter, I know killing that girl was random, but I kinda wanted to show that this killer is random (picking random houses etc.) but I'm sorry if it confused you or anything like that :) I actually am not gonna say where he is right now though, I will in a later chapter **

**-PsychoCritique: Yeah I wanted to also show he was still around, and good, I'm glad you hate him lol xD**

**-icegirljenni: I just wanted to say thank you for leaving reviews :) even in my other story I've seen your reviews and they make me happy :) so thank you!**

**-Anonymous / Sexy-Chan: Yayyyy! I'm glad you like it so far lol I wasn't sure if I was doing a good job with the suspenseful parts so thank you for leaving that awesome review :D **

**-lily: Thank you! :) **

**Ok so this chapter is short (sorry) but I wanted to add this and I kinda rushed it :l**

* * *

_"Who says life is fair? Where is that written?"_

_― William Goldman_

o~O~o

Officer Koga Wolfe pulled over to the side of the road in a foul mood. A teenage girl was dead, murdered in her own home; much like the murder of the Yamamoto's.

It was dark by the time he arrived here, though the rain had stopped and the sky was clear. Red and blue lights from the local radio cars greeted him with an eerie, strobing silence.

The small house looked old and run down with peeling paint and rusty window screens. Koga stepped out of his car and climbed the front steps. Grabbing hold of the doorknob, he noticed it was jiggly and loose. Walking through the front door, he headed toward the living room doorway. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he inhaled the coppery scent of blood.

"Koga?"

He turned to see a muscular man with wrinkled caramel colored skin and dark green eyes. Charlie Kripner had moved to Japan about five years ago from his home in New York and joined the police force soon after. Koga had never talked to him much, but he noticed that this man was a reliable cop.

"We've been trying to piece together a scenario from the blood evidence" he motioned for Koga to look at the wall in the hallway. "We think she was standing here when she received the first blow."

There was blood splatter on the walls and some on the ceiling; blood and tissue from a weapon being raised and then lowered with a successive blow.

"And here" Charlie pointed to a spot in the living room that had a pool of blood on the floor. "Is where we believe she was killed."

"The body?" Koga asked. He knew he could just follow the scent, but at the moment he didn't want to breath in much of the smell.

"In the room" Charlie said, leading Koga toward what he assumed was the girls' room.

He moved slowly toward the room, noticing the drag marks from the living room leading toward the room, and as he got closer, the nauseating scent of a dead body hit his nose. Looking at the walls, he noticed a few picture frames; innocent photos of mother and daughter enjoying holidays together. Once he was in the room, Koga became still in revulsion and slight shock. The young girl was propped up on the bed against a few pillows, a book opened on her lap and one of her hands placed atop the corner of her book. Her head was tilted back and a deep gash was showing across her throat. There was a look of mild surprise and horror on the girl's face. Her hair was long and pale blonde, and her eyes were blue and long-lashed. It was obvious that the scene was staged.

"What's her name?" Though Koga had seen his fair share of dead bodies, many that were in worse conditions than this, and had even killed many himself during the feudal era, he couldn't help the disturbed and sickening feeling he got whenever he saw an innocent person that had been murdered.

"Jennifer. When her mother came home and found her like that, she just lost it."

Koga merely nodded. It was understandable for the mother to react that way. She found her only child dead at home. He knew the mother was heartbroken.

"Do you think it's the same guy?" Koga asked, referring to the person who murdered the Yamamoto's. Just like in their house, he couldn't catch the scent of the killer anywhere in this house.

Thinking about the Yamamoto's, he briefly wondered how the little girl was doing.

When he had followed the small girl's scent to her closet and saw her huddled up and crying, Koga's heart went out to the small human. She looked so small, innocent and fragile. He of course felt pity for the couple who died, but after seeing their child scared and alone, he suddenly had become angry at the fact that some bastard had taken away her parents from her. He had picked her up gently and held her against his chest. He knew she was startled and confused, but he wanted to get her out of the house. He held her head against his chest so she wouldn't see the blood or her parents' lifeless bodies.

He wondered if she was ok, if maybe she was living with a family that could care for her and make her happy.

"I don't know" Charlie answered. "The Yamamoto's bodies weren't staged like this."

That was true. If this was the same killer, then he was doing things _very_ differently. He was becoming bolder, taking chances. It was almost as if he wanted to show the police he wasn't scared of getting caught, because he was confident he _wouldn't_ get caught.

If things continued like this, who knew how many other innocent people would be killed. And what aggravated Koga even more, was the fact that there was no scent from the killer. Also, they had no clue whether the killer was human or demon.

Some people thought that because the killer had murdered the Yamamoto's, who were human, that the killer was most likely a demon. That accusation, in Koga's opinion was ridiculous. He was a wolf demon and had no desire to kill humans; at least not any more. Also, just as demons would and could kill other demons, humans would and could kill other humans. Both had happened before and would happen again. So again, in his opinion, just because it was humans that had been murdered, didn't mean that the killer was automatically a demon.

There was no way to tell if it had been a demon or human.

The killer left no clues nor any evidence that there was someone else even in the house. Even after checking the bodies, they had found no DNA from the killer.

They would try to keep this from the press at least until they could properly examine the body for any possible evidence, but they would find out eventually. What Koga didn't want was for people to panic too much. They had every rite to be scared and cautious, especially at night and when alone at home.

That was even more troubling. People should be able to feel safe in their own home and this killer was taking that safety away from them. It wasn't fair.

"Bastard" Koga muttered.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do nottt own Inuyasha and I don't make any profit from this story **

* * *

_"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."_

_-Leo Buscaglia_

o~O~o

Rin jumped out of the car, grateful that they finally reached their destination. It was a six hour drive from Shinjuku to here in Kobe and Rin hoped she wouldn't have to sit in a car for that long again.

She stretched her arms over her head and yawned, wanting to go to sleep.

Opening her eyes, they widened slightly at what she saw.

They were in front of a beautiful house. It wasn't very large and it wasn't very small. It was a two story white house and Rin couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face when she saw the many flowers in the front yard.

"Do you like it?" Anna asked, smiling as she saw the little girl's smile.

"It's beautiful" Rin said.

"Well I don't know about you two" Tai said as he walked toward them with Rin's box in his hands. "But I'm starving, I think it's about dinner time huh?"

Anna rolled her eyes and glared playfully at her husband "And I suppose I'll be the one cooking dinner right?"

Tai smiled cheekily before looking down at Rin "Come on, I'll show you to your room while the chef prepares us dinner"

Anna mumbled to herself while Rin giggled and followed Tai into the house.

Inside the house, Rin could think of only one word that described it. Beautiful.

It was so different than the foster home she had been in. Whereas inside the foster home it was cold, dark, and gloomy, this house was warm, bright, and painted in cheerful colors.

She followed Tai up the wooden stairs and down the hallway to a room that was on the right.

"Here's your room" he said " Do you mind opening the door for me?"

She nodded and pushed open the door. Taking a step into the room, the lights were turned on by Tai and she couldn't help but gasp.

She loved it. The room - _her room_, was much bigger than the one at the foster home. The walls were painted a light blue and she noticed they even put a box full of a variety if toys. To the left was a closet, again something she didn't have at her previous 'home', and she couldn't help but smile brightly at the large bed. It looked extremely comfy and the blankets and pillow looked new and _clean_.

Tai was slightly surprised when he felt Rin hug his leg. Looking down, he saw he couldn't see her face and wondered for a brief moment if maybe she wasn't too fond of the room. If there were more things she needed or wanted for the room, he'd be happy to get it.

"Thank you so much" came her small voice, muffled because her face was pressed into his jeans. "I love my new room"

He smiled softly and bent down, putting his large hands on her small shoulders to get her attention. She looked up, and he saw a few tears leave her eyes.

Gently wiping the tears away with his thumb, he pulled her closer for a hug and rubbed her back soothingly. "I don't know how it was in the foster home, but this is your new home and we want you to be both happy and comfortable living here. And I'm going to let you know now, I plan on spoiling you rotten"

"Spoil me? she asked, "You don't have to.." Honestly she didn't want them going out of their way to spoil her, she was happy with what she had. It was more than enough.

"Yes I do, what man wouldn't want to spoil their daughter?"

Rin felt her heart grow warm at hearing his kind words and hugged him tighter.

_'Daughter..' _

"Tai! Rin! Come downstairs, you two are gonna help me cook" Anna yelled up.

Tai chuckled and pulled away from Rin. "Come on, let's go cook some dinner"

"Ok!" Rin said happily.

* * *

**(****_1 Week Later_****)**

A child's laughter rings out as he jumps off the swing midair, parents converse with each other, lovers walk hand in hand; all are oblivious to the distraught dog demon sitting on the wooden bench, his golden eyes focused only on the entrance the child had came through only a week ago.

How long had he been sitting here today? He knew he was supposed to be at work but he couldn't just sit around doing paperwork when Rin was missing.

Sesshomaru stood, deciding to walk back to work. Maybe she'd be there like the time when he first saw her.

The past week had felt like an eternity to him. Perhaps he should be relieved that he would now not have to watch over a human child, but he wasn't. It felt as if something was missing and his days seemed to become longer and duller without her presence.

The days now felt too quiet, too silent, too…_empty_.

Her laugh, her constant talking, her child-like curiosity and innocence, her smile..

All of that was missing, and he didn't like it. Only a day after she was missing he couldn't help but notice how it had suddenly become foreign to have her so absent from his life.

He hadn't become attached to the child, had he?

Sesshomaru stopped walking once he was in front of the office building. She wasn't here. He couldn't catch even a whiff of her scent.

Walking toward the doors, he clenched his fists at his sides. He wanted to keep looking for Rin, but he had missed enough of work today.

Sesshomaru couldn't deny how restless he felt at not knowing if she was safe or not.

He wasn't used to feeling this way. He was always the detached and emotionless one, so how could an insignificant _human child _change that?

He didn't know, but he did know that having her absent from his everyday life wasn't right.

"Sesshomaru!"

And a part of him hated knowing that.

"Hey! Bastard!"

A silent growl of agitation emitted from Sesshomaru's throat as he quickly turned toward his half brother.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Inuyasha said through gritted teeth as he walked up to Sesshomaru.

"Inuyasha, I'm not feeling particularly magnanimous today. I will not tolerate your disrespect."

"Listen bastard" Inuyasha poked him in the chest, choosing to ignore his half brothers' threatening tone. "I had to take your place in that stupid meeting _you_ were supposed to attend. I don't know what you're doing but-"

Sesshomaru, who's patience had quickly disappeared, pulled back his fist and slammed it into Inuyasha's face, watching unemotionally as his half brother stumbled back.

Pain. That was all that Inuyasha's mind could process for a moment after feeling the fist, which felt more like steel, hit the side of his face. Quickly getting over the shock, he glared at Sesshomaru's back, watching as he walked away. "What the hell!"

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

Inuyasha turned to see the small imp waddling after Sesshomaru. Taking a few quick steps toward the little demon, he bent down and grabbed the back of his shirt, lifting him off the ground so they were eye-to-eye.

"Huh?!" Jaken exclaimed in surprise, "What do you want with me?!"

"I want answers. What is Sesshomaru's problem? He's been acting like more of a bastard than usual"

"I'm under no obligation to speak to a half demon like you" Jaken answered. He was pretty sure that Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't want anyone else to know about Rin. And he was about _ninety_ percent sure that her disappearance was the reason for his short temper lately. Jaken had to even admit to himself that even he was affected by the girls' absence. He missed the child's 'annoying' talking, humming, and laughter.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and promptly hit the green demon a few times atop the head.

"I meant it's a kind of a long story" Jaken muttered.

"I got time."

o~O~o

Sesshomaru looked up in slight surprise from the paper he was reading when he heard a knock on his office door.

Of course he could in fact sense and smell the approach, however he was slightly surprised when this certain individual actually _knocked_ on his door.

"Enter" he said. Though he was not in the mood to deal with him, Sesshomaru was...curious as to why he would come here after their recent encounter.

Inuyasha walked into the office and closed the door behind him silently. Looking around the neat office for a moment, he then let his gaze fall on the demon sitting behind the desk, his expression almost filled with pity.

It was seeing that expression that made Sesshomaru become suspicious. He stayed quiet, waiting for Inuyasha to tell him _why_ exactly he was here in his office.

"I..uh" Inuyasha looked around the office again, unsure of how to word his next sentence. Sighing, he decided to just say the first thing that crossed his mind. "I know why you've been acting like more of a bastard than usual."

Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow. He was pretty sure his half brother did _not_ know what was bothering him. "And what, Inuyasha, makes you think you know anything?"

"Jaken told me" Inuyasha said as he folded his arms across his chest. "It's about that girl Rin."

It was the mention of the human girl that caused him to narrow his eyes as a low, threatening growl rippled through Sesshomaru's chest.

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head as he took a step back. "Calm down, I just wanted to let you know I'd help."

He immediately stopped growling and once again quirked an eyebrow before relaxing his facial features into his usual stoic expression. "I don't need your help. You may leave."

"Bullshit" Inuyasha growled, "It's been a week and you don't have a clue where she is"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed into slits. He didn't need to be reminded that he had no clue as to where she was or even if she was ok.

"Have you tried contacting the police?"

Sesshomaru stayed silent. No, he had not contacted them. In all honesty, that thought hadn't even crossed his mind. _He_ wanted to find her, and he was sure she'd show up soon. But she hadn't, and he wasn't doing a very good job at finding her, though he planned on doing a very thorough search for her all around Shinjuku this weekend. Where else could she be?

Inuyasha sighed, "I'll contact them for you"

He didn't wait for a reply, instead he turned and walked out of his half brothers' office.

Once he was sure Inuyasha was gone, Sesshomaru opened the large drawer at the bottom of his desk. Taking out the wrapped present he had bought only a week ago for her birthday, he carefully placed it atop his desk and gently ran a clawed finger along the top of it.

"Where are you Rin?"

* * *

**-So I'm not sure if I should do a few more chapters on how life is for Rin with Tai and Anna _or_ if I should just do the time skip to where she comes back to Shinjuku. So if anyone can let me know their opinion I'd appreciate it :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Inuyasha not do I make aby type of profit from this story. **

**-****_So I added some stuff with Anna and Tai :) I'm sorry it's not much, but they'll be around in future chapters ^-^_**

* * *

_"Having a place to go - is a home. Having someone to love - is a family. Having both - is a blessing. " _

_-Donna Hedges_

o~O~o

School.

Not a big deal right?

It's just a building. No reason to be scared.

But, Rin _was_ scared. In fact, she was not looking forward to her first day starting fifth grade at all. And not for the same reasons other demons or humans were dreading the start of school tomorrow. Whereas others were definitely not looking forward to sitting in a classroom for a few hours, school work, and of course the always hated homework; Rin wasn't looking forward to going because she was going to a new school where she wouldn't know anyone.

Well sure, there were probably others in the same situation as her, but that didn't make it any less scary for the small girl.

Besides, her last encounter with children at the foster home wasn't exactly pleasant.

Rin stared at the backpack on her bed. It was already full of a few notebooks, folders, pens and pencils thanks to both Anna and Tai. Part of her was so happy and grateful that they bought the school supplies for her, but the other part of her was slightly upset because this was visible proof school was right around the corner.

Literally.

The school was only a five minute drive from their house.

"Perfect" she muttered to herself.

"Is something wrong?"

She jumped and turned around, surprised to see Anna standing in her doorway.

"No! Nothing's wrong" she said quickly. She didn't want to have Anna or Tai worrying about her.

"Uh huh.." Anna smiled softly and walked over to the bed. She sat on the edge and patted on the spot next to her. When Rin sat on the bed also, she put a comforting hand on the girls shoulder. "Are you nervous about starting school?" she asked.

Rin nodded.

"Don't be, I'm sure it'll be fine. You'll probably have all the kids wanting to be friends with you"

Rin gave her a doubtful look. She wasn't so sure about that.

Anna smiled softly and pulled Rin close for a comforting hug. "Almost everyone gets nervous about their first day of school. You are such a sweet girl, so I'm sure you will make friends." She kissed the top of her head before standing. "Get some sleep okay?"

Rin nodded, placing her backpack on the floor beside her bed before getting under the blankets and laying down.

"Goodnight sweetie" Anna said as she turned off the light.

"Goodnight Anna" Rin replied, trying to ignore the hurt look that appeared on Anna's face before it disappeared and was replaced by the soft smile again. She wasn't sure she was ready to call her mom. She laid in her bed, looking out her window as she wondered how both Mr. Sesshomaru and Jaken were doing. She really did miss them.

She wondered if maybe they missed her.

* * *

"Listen mutt" Koga growled into the phone, "I don't know why you've been calling me but I'm tryin' to find a _murderer_. So unless you know who the hell is killin' people, I don't have time to deal with your shit."

Inuyasha bit back the urge to just yell at the stupid wolf, "There's a little girl missing."

There was a moment of silence before the wolf demon spoke again. "How long has she been missing?"

"About a week"

Koga frowned. There hadn't been any reports of a missing child. "I don't-"

"Her name's Rin. Sesshomaru was lookin' out for her."

_'Rin?'_ Koga thought. Why did the name sound so familiar? His eyes widened slightly as an image of the cowering child in a closet came to his mind. His eyes narrowed for a moment, "Isn't she in the foster home?"

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows for a moment. _'Does Koga know the kid?'_

"Sesshomaru went there asking where she was and the woman in charge of the place said she didn't know."

"Has he gone back to see if she is there now?" Koga asked.

"He had threatened the woman. So she filed a restraining order against him"

Koga would have laughed, but the thought of that little girl missing erased any humor from the situation.

"Alright I'll check it out."

* * *

**(****_Monday Morning_****)**

Rin smiled brightly as she looked at herself in the mirror. How beautiful the dress was. She had never gotten a chance to wear it and today seemed like the perfect day to.

She traced one of the white flowers with her finger, thinking about two demons she missed.

"Rin are you ready?" Anna walked in and stared at her dress for a moment. "What a beautiful sundress. Did you bring it from Ms. Suzuki's?"

"Yes, my friend gave it to me" Rin answered, still smiling as she remembered the day she got it. She missed both Jaken and Sesshomaru a lot and hoped one day she'd be able to see them again.

Anna raised her eyebrows and then smiled gently. "Well your friend has very good taste, it looks lovely on you. Come on, I'll drop you off at school"

o~O~o

Rin nervously fidgeted with a loose string on her sundress as she walked into the classroom. It took her a while to locate it, and she ended up having to ask one of the teachers for help.

To her embarrassment, it seemed as if all the other students were already there. So when she walked in, all eyes turned to look at her.

"Oh, are you in this class dear?"

Rin looked up to the woman that was to be her teacher and nodded shyly, hoping everyone would take their eyes off her soon.

"What's your name?" the teacher asked, glancing at the paper in her hand.

"Rin"

The teacher wrote something on the paper before saying, "I was just taking attendance. You can sit in the second row, okay?"

Rin nodded before walking over to an empty desk and taking a seat. After the teacher finished taking attendance, she placed the paper on her desk and spoke to the class.

"Okay everyone, as you know I am your new teacher, Ms. Masami" she smiled at the children before continuing. "I thought I'd try something different today to maybe get to know one another"

No one looked particularly excited about the idea, not that she expected the children to be. "When I point to you, you will stand and tell the class your name and something you like that begins with the letter of your name. For example, my name is Masami and I like...monkeys"

A few of the students smiled.

"Okay" Ms. Masami clapped her hands together happily. "Let's start with you" she said as she pointed to a student in the first row.

The student, a girl with short curly hair and bright blue eyes, stood and turned to face the class confidently. "My name is Fujiko and I like fashion" she pointed to her pink skirt and matching pink shirt. "Obviously." She smiled and sat back down.

"Very good" Ms. Masami said before pointing to the student next to Fujiko. "Next"

The next student, a boy, stood and turned to face everyone with a bored expression upon his face. "My name's Seito and I like sleeping." He yawned and sat back down as a few students giggled.

The 'getting to know you process' continued like that.

"My name is Tomoyo and I like Tigers"

"My name's Yukito and I like Yugio"

"I'm Erika and I like elephants"

Rin shifted in her seat nervously. She was next. She had wanted to say she liked flowers but her name didn't start with an 'f'. There were flowers that started with 'r' right?

The teacher then pointed at her and smiled encouragingly, almost as if she sensed her nervousness.

Rin stood and nervously faced the class, blushing slightly. "My name is Rin..." she said softly, her eyes looking down at the floor so she wouldn't see everyone staring at her. "And" she searched her memory for something that started with an 'r'. "I like roses" she finished quickly, smiling because she had remembered the name of a flower that began with an 'r'.

She sat back down in her seat and turned to the girl next to her when she felt a poke on her arm.

The girl, Erika, smiled and whispered so she wouldn't disturb the student who had just stood up and had begun to speak. "I like roses too" she told Rin.

Rin smiled, and took a deep silent breath. She hadn't talked to another child since her time at the foster home. But she knew that if she wanted to make a friend, she'd have to speak.

"I like elephants" she said.

Erika nodded enthusiastically, "They're awesome right? And the baby elephants are so cute. Do you wanna sit with me at lunch?"

Rin couldn't help the huge smile that spread across her face. This was her chance to make a friend. "Okay I'll sit with you" she said happily.

**o~O~o**

"Hi sweetie! How was school?" Anna asked from her seat in the car. Tai sat next to her, on the drivers side.

"It was great" Rin said honestly. At lunch she had sat with Erika and a few of her friends and they had all been really nice to her. "I made a new friend" she said as she got into the back seat of the car.

"How nice, what's your friends' name?" Tai asked as he pulled out of the parking spot.

"Her name is Erika. She likes flowers just like me! But she likes elephants more. Oh, and she had a brownie for a snack, and broke it in half to share it with me" Rin said , smiling widely the whole time she spoke.

"That's wonderful" Anna said.

"And to celebrate your wonderful first day of school, we're gonna go out to eat" Tai said.

"Yay!" Rin was glad she had having a good first day of school. She had expected to be made fun of or picked on but no one had been mean to her. Maybe it had been pretty silly that she was terrified of going to school today.

* * *

"She's what?" Inuyasha asked, wondering if maybe he didn't hear the wolf demon correctly.

"She was adopted." Koga said as he sat back in the seat of his car. He felt extremely tired today. All he wanted to do at the moment was go home and go to sleep. He hoped his mate Ayame had cooked dinner, because he was hungry too.

Inuyasha wondered why the hell the woman at the foster home had told Sesshomaru she didn't know where the girl was. Him and his half brother didn't really get along, but even _he_ could sympathize with the bastard. He of course didn't truly understand the relationship Sesshomaru had with the child, but it was obvious that the cold hearted demon had, by some miracle, grown attached to her.

"Who adopted her? Where is she now? Is she still here in Shinjuku?" Inuyasha asked quickly. The faster he found this girl, the faster Sesshomaru would stop acting like more of a bastard than usual. Inuyasha did not want to be punched again, nor did he want to take his half brothers place at some boring meeting again.

"I can't tell you th-"

"What the hell do you mean you can't tell me?" Inuyasha growled.

"You're not a part of her family Inuyasha. You're not related to her, so I'm unauthorized to tell you"

"What the fuck am I supposed to do about Sesshomaru?" he muttered.

"Just let him know she's ok. She was adopted, and honestly, if she or the couple that adopted her wanted him to know where she was, don't you think they would've found a way to contact him?"

Inuyasha stayed silent for a moment, thinking it over. Did the girl really not want Sesshomaru to know where she was? Jaken had said that Rin had enjoyed spending time with both of them, so why didn't she tell one of them she was going to be adopted? She had to have known. The couple would have talked to her beforehand. Maybe she just didn't want him to know. Well, Inuyasha wouldn't share _that_ thought with his bastard of a brother. The demon would probably try to kill him.

No, he'd just let him know that she was okay and had been adopted. Perhaps he'd be relieved that she wasn't missing like he thought.

"Thanks Koga" he said before hanging up.

* * *

"You, young lady" Tai said as he put down his menu and looked at Rin, "should try some kayu"

Rin nodded her head absently as she looked over the pictures on her menu. The udon looked pretty good. She leaned toward Anna and pointed to the picture. "Can I have this please?"

Anna looked at the picture and nodded, "Yaki udon? That looks good"

Rin placed the menu back on the table before looking around the restaurant, her eyes landing on a small boy that looked to be about six or seven. He was staring at her, so she did the only thing she could think of doing. She smiled and waved. The boy's face lit up as he smiled and waved enthusiastically before looking away to stare at someone else.

"Rin, no dating." Tai said teasingly.

"I know, I'm not old enough" she said. She wasn't interested in dating yet anyways. She was only ten and thought of boys just as friends.

"That's right" he nodded his head approvingly. "No dating until you're fifty."

"I don't think that's fair. I started dating when I was seventeen. It might be at that age when boys will start asking you for permission to date Rin" Anna said. She couldn't help but giggle at her husbands' expression.

"I'll shoot them."

Rin laughed while Anna shook her head disapprovingly. "Tai"

"What? I'll warn them not to even ask to date her, and if they don't listen then it's their fault." He shrugged before grinning evilly, "Shoot the first one and the word will spread."

This time both Anna and Rin laughed.

_'I'm so happy'_ Rin thought. She loved her time with both Anna and Tai and was grateful that they had chose to adopt her. She truly loved them as a mother and father. She had never called them 'mom' or 'dad' because at first she felt guilty because she had already had a mom and dad. But now she realized that she wasn't replacing her parents. She would always love and miss them.

"Rin? Are you okay?" Tai asked.

"Huh?" Rin looked up and smiled after seeing the concerned look in Tai's face. "Yes, I'm ok"

He returned her smile and looked around before his smile grew larger. "Good, because it's time to eat"

**o~O~o**

As usual, Anna came into Rin's room to tuck in the little girl.

Rin watched as Anna walked over to her, all the while smiling gently. She enjoyed when Anna would come to tuck her in. Even if she had already pulled the the blankets on herself she noticed that whenever Anna came and shifted the blankets, it felt so much more comfortable. How did she do that?

After fixing the blanket, Anna placed a gentle hand on top of Rin's head and smoothed down the dark hair. "Goodnight sweetie" she said softly before leaning down and placing a kiss on the child's forehead.

Rin was about to say 'goodnight Anna' but decided against it. She felt so loved when she was with both Tai and Anna, and she knew she loved them as well. It didn't matter that they were not her biological parents. They considered her to be their daughter...and Rin considered them to be her parents. She was not replacing her mom and dad; she would always love and miss them.

She watched as Anna walked toward the door and hesitated only a moment before saying softly, "Goodnight...mom"

There was a small gasp as Anna turned to face her. Unshed tears glistened in the woman's eyes before she smiled happily and walked back to Rin and gave her a tight hug.

* * *

_*__Kayu__ (or okayu) is Japanese rice porridge. It tends to be thicker than other types of rice porridge or gruel._

_*__Udon__ is a type of thick wheat flour noodle of Japanese cuisine. Udon is often served hot as a noodle soup in its simplest form_

**_-So there wasn't much with Anna and Tai, I know, but they will be in future chapters :) Especially since I think overprotective Tai should meet Sesshomaru at some point :3 _**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Inuyasha and I don't make a profit from this story. Basically, if you recognize anything, I don't own it :)**

**_-Kinda short chapter that has a time skip of about nine years _**

* * *

_"Choose your friends wisely-they will make or break you."_

_J. Willard Marriott_

o~O~o

How dare he...

How _DARE_ he!

Rin glared down at the sidewalk as she stomped her way passed a crowd of people who were walking far too slowly in her opinion.

_'I can't believe that man'_ she thought angrily, gritting her teeth as she continued to glare at the cracked sidewalk.

She had moved back here to Shinjuku only two days ago and, at nineteen years old, was trying to be responsible. Already she had gone to one of the cafés in search of a job. She was determined to show her parents that she would and could take care of herself without their financial support. She had originally wanted to move out once she turned eighteen, however her parents had convinced her to spend one more year with them, though she assured them that she would call them regularly and visit as often as she could. She loved them and loved spending time with them, but she also had wanted to try to live on her own.

So, like a _RESPONSIBLE_ person, she had gone out and searched for a job.

When she had walked into the café she had asked someone who worked there if they were possibly hiring people at the moment.

His reply?

"Yeah, we're hiring. I own the place. If you're looking for a job I'd have no problem hiring you."

Rin had been _ecstatic_. It was the first place she went to and already the boss had said he'd hire her! She was already planning her long and mature-sounding speech she would recite to her parents, highlighting on her accomplishment of getting a job on her first try.

However, the next thing he said was:

"Hey, you maybe wanna go and perhaps have dinner with me sometime?"

She had asked if it was because he wanted to discuss things about the job, and when he said 'no', she had respectfully declined. Besides the fact that the man didn't seem to be her type, she certainly didn't want to go out on a date with him if he was going to be her boss.

He apparently didn't like her answer that much because after she had declined, he looked thoughtful for a moment before replying with:

"I understand. However, now that I think of it, I'm not hiring at the moment. I do apologize."

What a _jerk_! She had immediately left, not wanting to waste any more of her time. How dare he suddenly not want to hire her just because she didn't want to go out with him. Would this happen again? She hoped not. She was pretty sure if it did, she'd lash out at the person.

"I can't believe...stupid...jerk" she mumbled, not watching where she was going. Therefore she walked right into someone, causing the person to spill his drink all over the ground.

"Oh! I'm so sorry" she said quickly, immediately taking a step back to look at the person.

It was a boy, a boy who looked to be around her age. She would have thought he was human if it weren't for his pointed ears and cat-like eyes that almost seemed to glow a bright green. His red hair was short and looked so soft, she found herself wanting to run her hand through it, if only to feel how soft it actually was. His caramel colored skin was unblemished. Getting a good look at him, she realized he was very handsome.

"Nah it's ok" he said as he looked up from staring at his former drink and shoved his hands in his pockets before smirking. "I wasn't watching where I was going, so I understand if you might think I'm a stupid jerk"

Rin blushed slightly from embarrassment after realizing he had heard what she was mumbling. She hadn't even realized she was saying that out loud. "No, I'm sorry..that was..I mean I didn't.."

"Calm down" he said while chuckling. "I said it was ok right?"

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. She didn't want to say anything else that would be embarrassing. An awkward silence filled the air as she wondered if maybe she should just walk away now.

He spoke, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I'm Daisuke. And you are?"

"I'm Rin"

"Well nice to meet you Rin. I think you owe me a drink." He couldn't help but smile as yet another blush spread across Rin's cheeks.

Rin frowned after a moment, realizing the closest place to get something to drink was the café she had just come from. "I'm sorry, but...I'd rather not go back to that, I mean, maybe.."

_'Why can't I just speak right'_ she thought, slightly irritated with herself. She could probably blame it on the fact that she was still angry at the man who didn't hire her, she was embarrassed at the fact she walked right into this guy, and the fact that he was handsome wasn't really helping things.

"It's fine. How about some ice cream instead? I just passed a place that sells really good ice cream."

She immediately perked up. "Ice cream?" Oh how she loved ice cream.

He smiled then, finding this girl, Rin, amusing. "Yeah, I'm kind of addicted to the stuff. Wanna come?"

Rin bit her bottom lip, unsure of what to say. She had just met this guy...but...he seemed nice.

"Sure"

* * *

**(****_2 Weeks Later_****)**

_'Why did I even come back here'_ she thought as she leaned back on her seat.

She wasn't really sure why she had decided to move back here to Shinjuku. She had no family or friends here, though she did remember the two demons she used to spend time with.

She had gone to the park only once to see if she'd see one of them but wasn't very surprised when she didn't. They had no reason to go there anymore. Perhaps they had forgotten about her? Maybe. Of course, she had even thought about going to the business area of Shinjuku to see if maybe she'd see them there, but decided against it. They were probably very busy anyway.

"What're you thinkin' bout?" asked Daisuke as he took a bite out of his taiyaki.

One good thing about coming back here was that she and the boy she had bumped into became very good friends. After joining him for ice cream, they exchanged numbers and had been hanging out together everyday since then. She still thought he was very handsome, but she saw him more as a brother. He was so laid back and honest with her, something she appreciated a lot. Also, she could never be in a bad mood around him. He had a way of always making her smile.

"I need a job" she muttered. She still hadn't been able to get one. She felt slightly embarrassed and horrible because she ended up having to ask her parents for help financially. Only until she'd be able to get a job. They of course had no problem with helping her, but she didn't want to take advantage of their kindness. They had already done so much for her.

"You've been lookin' for two weeks now. I thought you would've found something" he said with a mouth full of food. She remembered asking him about where he worked. He had told her that he worked part-time at the 100 yen store. That certain place had been a lifesaver for her. She had gotten a lot of things there for around her house.

"Me too" she said dejectedly.

He stared at her a moment as his eyebrows knitted close together in thought. "I know someone who'd give you a job"

Her eyes lit up as a wide smile spread across her face. "Seriously?"

He nodded, grinning as he tried to hold back the laugh at her reaction. It was rather cute. "Yeah"

"Can you introduce me?" she asked excitedly.

**o~O~o**

Both Rin and Daisuke walked through the dim lit nightclub and headed toward a back room. Though he assured her that she'd get the job, she was still nervous. She had never been in any type of club before. Rin looked around in curiosity as her eyes wandered over the colorful displays of blue lights around the bar. Above the bottles she guessed were alcoholic beverages on glass shelves, was the name of the club. _Chaos_ was written in shining red lights.

Daisuke walked in front of her, stopping only when he was in front of a closed door. "He's in here."

He opened the door and walked in with Rin following close behind. She looked around the room that was in fact an office. Her eyes landed on the man sitting behind a mahogany desk.

He was large; round. His eyes were such a dark brown that they looked black. His shirt seemed to be drenched in the grease of oily foods and he was leaning back lazily on the chair.

"Hello Daisuke" his voice was raspy. "Is that the girl you were telling me about?"

"Yeah, this is Rin" he turned to look at her, "Rin this is Mr. Yoshida."

Rin stepped forward so she was next to her friend and smiled politely before giving the man a small bow. "It's nice to meet you sir"

"Likewise. Have we met before? Perhaps I knew your parents-"

"Her parents are dead. They were murdered." Daisuke interrupted. She looked at him, trying not to be affected by how casually he said that. He was like this, she knew. He wasn't afraid or ashamed to say what was on his mind. He said what was on his mind and that was it. She had told him about her parents when he asked about her family. She had also mentioned Tai and Anna.

Looking at him now, it seemed as if a corner of his lip tilted up slightly. And for a second Rin saw something different in him. Something that didn't match his handsome face and cool demeanor. But it was gone in an instant and it left her wondering if maybe she imagined it.

Just as she was about to mention Anna and Tai to the man, he spoke.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry" she turned to look at Mr. Yoshida, who had a sympathetic and sad look etched upon his face. "My wife was murdered as well. I shouldn't have asked..." He looked down, obviously feeling guilty that he had unintentionally brought up a sad part of her life.

She smiled softly, "It's ok, you didn't know."

"So" Daisuke yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "Does she get the job?"

Mr. Yoshida's lips pulled up in a smile showing his yellow teeth. "Of course. I'll expect you to come in the day after tomorrow. We open at six p.m, so I'll need you here by five to help get everything ready. You'll be working until about eleven or twelve depending on how busy we are."

"Ok that's no problem" she answered, trying not to show how much she didn't like the idea of working late, but at least it was a job. It was better than nothing.

After saying goodbye to Mr. Yoshida, both Rin and Daisuke left the club. Once outside, she let out a deep breath and turned to her friend, a huge smile on her face. Though she wasn't that fond of the idea of working at a nightclub, she was grateful to her friend for getting this job for her. Without him, she most likely would be unemployed for the next week.

She jumped forward and hugged him, wanting to show him how happy and grateful she was. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Daisuke laughed and hugged her back, lifting her up for a moment before putting her back down. "No problem. Anything for you Rin"

* * *

_*__Taiyaki__ is a Japanese fish-shaped cake._

_*A __100 yen store__ in Japan is like a dollar store._


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha and I don't make any money or anything from this story. **

**_-So I do like to add little scenes that you might recognize from the anime :) I won't do it too much, but you'll notice the parts I do add them into ^-^ Also, just so I don't confuse anyone, the beginning starts off as a dream. ~~Time skip-1 week later :)_**

* * *

_"If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden."_

_~Claudia Ghandi_

o~O~o

_"Rin"_

_"My name is Rin Yamamoto"_

_"My birthday is tomorrow"_

_"I'm gonna be ten!"_

_"Mr. Sesshomaru"_

_"Um, I was wondering Mr. Sesshomaru"_

_"If...if I were to go away forever, would you always remember me?"_

Sesshomaru sat up abruptly in his bed, his breathing quickened slightly while drops of sweat rolled down his forehead. After taking in his surroundings, he laid back down and groaned, rubbing his eyes with the back of his clawed hands.

Why couldn't he go a day without thinking about her? It had been nine years now since he'd seen her and still he thought of her almost constantly; wondered where she could be or if she was ok.

When Inuyasha first told him that she had been adopted and the police would not give them information pertaining to where she was, he had walked out of the office with every intention to kill anyone and everyone on the police force. It had took both his half brother and father to hold him back.

At some point, he had calmed down enough to be slightly relieved at the fact that she _wasn't_ kidnapped. But then why hadn't she told him she was to be adopted? Did she not know? Was she still in Shinjuku? Did they force her to go with them? What if the people that adopted her treated her badly?

Kami, how he wanted to kill the woman at the foster home.

Looking to the right where his wooden dresser was, he stared at the wrapped box that had gathered dust over the years.

Why had he kept it?

He sat up, taking comfort in the silence of his home. He lived in a penthouse, located on the highest floor of the rather luxurious apartment. Perhaps it was too big for only himself to live in, but he didn't care. It was not as if he, Sesshomaru, was or could ever be lonely.

_'Absurd'_

He got up after glancing at the clock. He had to get ready for work.

**o~O~o**

Sesshomaru walked through the doors of the building, pointedly ignoring everyone he passed as he made his way toward his office.

"Milord!"

"What is it Jaken?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice. He was not in the mood to listen to the imps' pointless squawking.

Jaken looked up eagerly. "Your father is in a meeting with that Naraku fellow." He said it as if he had discovered something amazing and couldn't wait to tell someone.

"Your point is?"

"Huh?" he nervously took a step back and looked down, fiddling with his little green fingers. "My point, yes, what was my point?"

Sesshomaru walked away, ignoring the heated look he was getting from the secretary Kagura. That woman really needed to either get herself a boyfriend or focus her un-welcomed heated looks on someone else.

Jaken followed, always eager to be by his lords side. However he was unable to do so because when his lord walked into his office, the door was closed on Jaken's face.

He sighed, looking down at his tiny shoes. _'Lord Sesshomaru is still upset'_

When Rin first went missing, it was understandable that Lord Sesshomaru would be angry and worried. Jaken had noticed how his lord had grown attached to the child. However, when they had found out that she had been adopted, Jaken had thought perhaps Sesshomaru would be relieved and somewhat glad. But as days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, his lord had become even more frightening than he used to be.

Instead of being lenient with his employees when they made a mistake -no matter how small- he automatically fired them. Though some of the more...unfortunate employees had the displeasure of learning how violent their boss was. Even Inuyasha knew not to mess with his half brother anymore. The half demon wisely stayed away from his half brother.

"Where are you, foolish girl" he whispered.

**o~O~o**

Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair, staring at the clock on the wall.

_5:51 p.m._

He had finished his work quite early today, so he stood, getting ready to leave the confines of his office.

"Inuyasha! Would you hurry up already?"

"Miroku, let's _go_."

Sesshomaru sat back down on his chair, deciding to wait until Inuyasha and his friends left. He didn't want any of them to even attempt to talk to him. He truly hated having his office next to Inuyasha's. He often thought his father put their offices next to each other purposely.

"Feh" he heard Inuyasha say. "We didn't ask you guys to come here."

"Yeah well if I waited for you to come home, you'd probably stop somewhere to eat ramen even though you promised Shippo we'd all eat dinner together today"

"Where is he anyway?"

He heard his half brothers' mate sigh before answering. "He's at my mom's. I asked her to watch him while I came to get you. I don't have to work today and I'd like to have a dinner together"

Inuyasha growled, "I don't like you working there. All those damn guys getting drunk around you.."

"I'm not quite fond of that job either Sango" Miroku said.

"We're _fine_, besides, our boss hired a few new people to help around the place. So me and Sango don't really have to stay that long." She tried to reason with Inuyasha, but she had to agree with him. She didn't like working there and planned on quitting soon. She also wanted to spend more time with Shippo.

Sesshomaru looked at the clock once more. It read _'6:00' _now and he was growing impatient.

"Yeah" Sango said "Have you met the new bartender Kagome? He's so shy and nice, I'm surprised he's working there. And that girl, she's really nice too. What was her name? Rin?"

That immediately got Sesshomaru's attention. Did he hear her correctly? Did she really say the one name that was on his mind almost constantly?

_'Rin'_

Was it the same person? The child he met nine years ago?

He stood and walked toward the door, pulling it open quickly. All conversation stopped as he stalked toward the woman. They all watched him warily. He had been so distant to everyone, so it was odd that he was walking toward them.

"You." He fixed Sango with a piercing stare. "You mentioned a girl. Her name was Rin?"

Sango looked at her husband nervously and then back at Sesshomaru. Had she said something wrong? "Yes, I...believe that was her name"

His eyes narrowed as he took a threatening step toward her. Miroku and Inuyasha took a step toward him, not sure what was going on, but not wanting any harm to come to Sango.

"Are you sure" he said, growling.

"I think..." Sango said, growing even more nervous under his piercing stare. "I'm not sure, I've only been able to talk to her once...we've been really busy"

"Sesshomaru" Inuyasha suddenly spoke after realizing why his half brother was acting like this. He had thought the name sounded familiar. "You don't think it's her do you? I mean, it's been nine years."

He didn't answer, his mind only on one thing: finding this girl. If she wasn't the child then it would at least quell his curiosity.

* * *

**(****_6:40 p.m_****)**

"Mr. Yoshida?"

He looked up from the laptop on his desk and smiled, raising his hand to beckon her to come inside the office.

"How are you Rin?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

She smiled at him. Though she had been slightly intimidated when she had first met him, he was a very nice man. "I'm okay. Actually, I was wondering if... I mean if it's not any trouble..." she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, slightly uncomfortable.

"Rin, I've told you if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

She nodded. "I was wondering if I could leave now sir" she watched as he raised his eyebrows. She couldn't blame him if he said no. She had only been working for about an hour and already she was asking to leave. "I'm sorry, I.." She placed a hand on her stomach and winced from the pain. It must have been something she ate because she felt like throwing up. "I'm sorry" she repeated. "I just don't feel very well"

He looked concerned as he looked at her slightly paled face. "I understand. Go home and get some rest." He said before looking back at his laptop.

"Thank you sir" she said before walking out of the office. She walked through the crowd of people dancing, wanting to leave through the back door of the nightclub. She paused in her walking when she felt her phone vibrate.

She stood there and read the text from her old friend.

* * *

There was a reason he didn't like nightclubs.

The loud music hurt his sensitive ears, the overwhelming smell of sweat and arousal sickened him, and it was far too crowded. If one more person rubbed against him, he was sure he'd kill them.

If she was truly here..why would she pick a place like this to work? Maybe the woman, Sango, had been mistaken.

Besides, if she was in Shinjuku, wouldn't she have come looking for him?

No, she wouldn't be here. She would not be working in this disgusting place. Perhaps she was looking for him now. Maybe she went to the park. He would go there to check. Just as he turned to leave, a scent caught his attention and he recognized it instantly.

_'Rin'_

The smell of wildflowers and vanilla. Though her scent had somewhat changed in nine years, there was not a doubt in his mind that it was indeed her.

He stood completely still as a sense of urgency filled his body; golden eyes searched the crowd of people, hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl.

_'Where is she'_

His mind was racing with questions. Why was she here? Why didn't she try to go see him? When did she come back? He took a deep calming breath and closed his eyes, ignoring the scent of alcohol and sweat as he tried to track down where her scent was coming from.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and made his way through the crowded dance floor.

He walked forward, ignoring the sounds of people complaining when he pushed them out of his way. It was either he push them out of the way or throw them out of the way. If more people got in his way, he'd start throwing them.

Then he saw her.

Well, the back of her.

Long brown hair flowed down to her waist. She was wearing a skirt and he couldn't help but notice her slender, tanned legs. Legs that made you care about legs.

For a moment he stayed perfectly still, his mind going momentarily blank at finally seeing her after nine years. What would he say to her?

But for some reason he had to do this. He wanted to do this. He wanted to ask her the questions that had been bothering him for nine years. He looked for her and spent so long worrying about her, though he would never admit to doing such a thing.

He took a step forward. Wanting to talk to her, ask her questions; wanting to see her face.

As if she knew someone was staring, she turned his way, but before he was able to see her face a group of people walked in front of him, making their way toward the bar. He glared at them and growled, taking a moment to decide how best to kill each and every one of them. However, after a minute of debating, his mind went back to Rin and he quickly looked over toward where he had saw her.

She was gone.

He walked forward, pushing aside anyone who got in his way. She was there, he was sure she was. He saw her. So where was she now? Perhaps he imagined it? No, that was nonsense. He had clearly smelled her scent.

He growled and looked around a moment before following her scent toward a back door. He quickly opened the door, but he was disappointed when he didn't see her. There was no one out here, just a few cars driving by. And, much to his annoyance, it was raining. Which meant he wouldn't be able to follow her scent. He growled angrily before walking back into the club and toward the bar where a young man was making drinks.

The young male looked up and smiled at him, "Hello, what can I get ya?"

Sesshomaru grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him so half his body was bent over the bar and now face-to-face with him.

"Why did Rin leave?"

"Rin?" he asked. He didn't know she left. How was he supposed to answer a question he didn't know the answer to?

The demon holding on to his shirt bared his fangs at him, and all he wanted to do was run and hide. He tried to answer quickly, hoping the demon would leave him alone if he answered truthfully. "I don't know, she doesn't usually leave this early" he answered. He was starting to sweat and his chest hurt with how hard his heart was beating.

"When will she be back."

"Huh?" It was hard to think straight while he was this scared.

He growled, low and feral as his eyes flashed red. "When will she come back to this filthy place to work?"

"T-tomorrow?" The boy answered, wondering if he was going to die today.

"When does she leave?"

"I-it d-depends." Great. Now he was stuttering. Why couldn't this demon ask the other bartender instead if him? "I-I mean...sometimes it's.."

"What. Time." Sesshomaru said slowly, threateningly.

"I...I don't know exactly man! It depends how busy we are" he hoped the demon was an...understanding individual. "I sometimes see her leave at a certain time though" he said quickly when he saw the demons' eyes narrow a bit more.

Sesshomaru tightened his grip on the boys' shirt, not caring that a crowd of onlookers were watching.

"What time is that"

"I..." the boy was having trouble talking because of how frightened he was. He was definitely going to quit this job. "Uh...I..."

_'Pathetic'_

"I suggest you answer quickly, human. My patience is running thin."

"She usually leaves about eleven-thirty!"

"Hn." Sesshomaru released the mans' shirt and turned to walk away. She worked here. So that meant he would come back tomorrow. And now he knew when she left work.

He smirked.

* * *

Rin sat in the backseat of the taxi, her heart pounding wildly as she peeked out of the side window. She sighed before sinking down into seat. Looking over to the left, she gave a small smile to the couple that was glaring at her. She couldn't blame them; she had jumped into the taxi while they were getting quite intimate.

_'What's wrong with me'_ she thought as she sunk further into the lush leather seat of the vehicle. She was just leaving work for the day and was standing answering a text from Erika before she felt as if someone was watching her.

Turning slowly, she had only caught a glimpse of silver hair before she panicked. She practically ran out of the club, leaping into the first cab she saw.

She sighed. Why had she panicked like that? Surely he wasn't the _only_ demon with silver hair, so perhaps that wasn't him. She had missed both Sesshomaru and Jaken very much and wanted to see them, but would they have forgotten her? Or maybe they would be angry with her because she left without even saying goodbye. At the time it felt like a good idea, but now that she was older she realized that maybe it wasn't. She could've at least told them she was being adopted.

What if...what if they had gone to the park the next day and waited for her? What if they thought something had happened to her when she didn't show up?

Rin faced the window and began banging her head against it softly, all the while muttering to herself "Stupid...stupid..._stupid_"

The couple looked at her as if she were crazy before telling the cab driver "You can drop us off here"

**o~O~o**

Rin didn't get any sleep that night. The nightmare that had been plaguing her since her parents' death had her waking up constantly in a cold sweat.

The last time she looked at the clock before she tried to get some much needed sleep, it was seven in the morning. If she hadn't gotten to sleep last night, she at least wanted to get some sleep now, even though it was morning. She closed her eyes and curled under the blanket.

The screaming, the laughing, it was the same thing over and over again. Sometimes there was a voice. A cold, threatening voice.

_"Are you afraid?"_

Once in a while though, she was fortunate enough to get through sleep without any dreams at all.

Now, she wasn't so fortunate.

Rin sat up quickly, sweat beading up on her forehead. She looked around her room but everything seemed blurry at the moment. Rubbing her eyes, she opened them once again to see the shapes in her room begin to appear, followed by outlines, and then everything became clear.

Rin collapsed back into her bed, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep. She still didn't feel too good. However, just as she closed her eyes she heard someone knocking on her apartment door.

Grumbling to herself, she stood and walked toward the door, not bothering to call out and ask who it is. That's what peepholes were for.

Quietly, she leaned forward and squinted to look through the peephole with a tired eye. After seeing who it was, she stepped back to unlock the door and then open it.

"Hey sleepyhead" Daisuke said with a smile. "What time do you start work today?"

"I have to be there by six" she said as she sat on her couch. It was only three o'clock right now. Just a few more minutes of sleep...

She curled up on the couch and closed her eyes once again.

"Rin?" She heard Daisuke ask.

"Five more minutes" she mumbled.

Daisuke chuckled and stared at her as she fell into a deep sleep. He couldn't help but think she was adorable.

Walking through the apartment, he went into her bedroom and grabbed a blanket to put on her. After he did that, he looked around and walked over to her kitchen sink.

_'She better thank me for this'_ he thought as he began to do her dishes.

**o~O~o**

"Rin?"

She grumbled and pulled the warm blanket over her head.

"Rin wake up"

She didn't really want to. She was so comfy and warm, and she smelled food? It smelled good..

"Rin. It's five o'clock"

"What?" She sat up quickly and looked toward the clock located on the wall and immediately her tiredness was forgotten. It was already five? She had to be at work in _thirty_ minutes! She got up and ran toward her room and heard Daisuke laughing. "Shut up!"

Rin quickly dressed in a plain black shirt and a pair of jeans.

Daisuke watched, amused, as Rin came out of her room, hopping on one foot as she pulled a sock onto the other.

"Mind if I stay here today?" he asked, taking a seat on her couch.

"Why?"

"I don't have cable" he said, pointing to her t.v.

"Oh, ok then. I don't mind" she said as she pulled on her other sock. He had stayed over a few times before, just to watch t.v or hang out. Sometimes he spent the night after falling asleep on the couch.

"Thanks. Oh, take this." He stood up and showed her the brown paper bag, "I picked up some food for you"

She hugged him tightly, grateful for having a good friend like him. "Thank you!" She grabbed the bag and rushed over to the door. "I gotta go" she said as she pulled on her sneakers. "I'll see you later"

Not waiting for a reply, she ran out the door hoping she wouldn't be late.

* * *

Sesshomaru leaned back in his office chair, looking toward the clock and watching as the time switched from _5:09_ to _5:10_

Time seemed to be moving very slow today. He would leave work soon and go home, then he wouldn't have to leave until around ten-forty. He wanted to catch Rin before her shift was over and wasn't sure if the pathetic human boy was sure that Rin would leave at eleven-thirty.

Jaken looked at the papers he was supposed to make a copy of. He looked back up to stare at his boss. "Lord Sesshomaru, I regret to inform you that there was no more ink"

_'She will not get away.'_ Sesshomaru smiled at the thought.

"Ack!" Jaken immediately bowed, his forehead touching the floor. "Please forgive me my Lord!"

Sesshomaru stood, ignoring the cowering toad on the floor. What was he doing there anyway? It didn't matter.

* * *

**(****_11:25 p.m_****)**

Rin balanced the tray which held the empty glass cups on one hand as she made her way toward the bar.

"Would you like to dance?" A guy asked her in a slurred voice as he put his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him and noticed he reeked of alcohol.

"I'm working." She said before turning and walking away. She didn't want to deal with a drunk guy.

_'Five more minutes..'_ she thought happily.

Only five more minutes before she would finally be able to go home. Honestly, working in this crowded and loud place wasn't exactly something she enjoyed.

"Hey Rin" the bartender boy said as he filled another cup with a drink.

"Hey Hiro" she said as she placed the tray on the counter. She wondered briefly where Hojo was. He was such a nice boy and she was slightly surprised that he was working as a bartender.

"Take this to the guy at table seven. It's the table toward the back" he said as he pushed a cup over to her. "He asked specifically for you." He winked and chuckled before turning to ask someone what they wanted.

She frowned slightly, wondering why someone would ask specifically for her. After a moment her face paled at the thought that it might be some pervert.

"Just give him the drink and walk away" she told herself.

She kept her eyes firmly planted to the ground as she made her way over to the table.

_'Just don't make eye contact..'_ she told herself.

"Here you go sir" she said quickly as she placed the drink on the table, not once bothering to look up at the man. She turned to walk away when a voice cut through the noise of the crowd and loud music.

"Rin."

She froze, knowing that voice all too well.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Inuyasha and I don't make a profit from this story. **

_**A/N- So I had a little trouble with these two chapters and I'm not that happy with how they turned out, but I'm working on the next two chapters and hopefully they'll be better (and longer) than these two :) I was going to post this earlier, but I kinda started a new Sesshomaru/Rin story and, yeah, I was working on that lol Also, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that reviewed, I really appreciate it ^-^**_

* * *

_"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory" -Dr. Seuss_

_o~O~o_

Rin wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to ignore him or to turn around and face the demon. She knew that voice; knew who it was that spoke her name. But why was he here? Did he know she was working here?

Perhaps that was a silly thought. A lot of people came here, it was a popular place. Maybe he just came here to get a drink and just happened to see her walking around, serving drinks. He had asked for her specifically and now he said her name to get her attention. He probably wanted to talk. What would she say though? She wasn't entirely sure, but she did know that she had been standing still for too long. She had to turn around.

Very slowly, she began to turn around, keeping her eyes on the floor until she was facing the area he was sitting in. Just as slowly, her eyes began to trail from his feet up to his bent legs, his torso and arms, his shoulders and neck, then his face , and finally those piercing golden eyes.

His eyes widened slightly when she faced him. Though he had been watching her for about thirty minutes now, he hadn't gotten a good look at her. She was most definitely different than how he remembered her to be. That shouldn't have been a surprise since he hadn't seen her in nine years. But he wasn't expecting this.

Of course she had gotten taller; her hair was longer as it flowed over her shoulders and down to her waist. Her face and body…was definitely no longer that of a child's. He couldn't deny that she was indeed a woman now.

He would probably never admit to even thinking it, but she was beautiful...

Rin could only stare at the demon she had spent time with when she was little. He hadn't changed at all. The only thing different from back then was the fact that she realized how handsome he was now. She pushed that thought out of her mind. He was a friend, the demon she knew when she was a child. He probably still viewed her as a little girl.

"Sesshomaru..." she whispered, breaking the silence that had enveloped them as they stared at one another. She didn't know what else to say. It was strange, she had missed him and had always thought of seeing him again, but now that he was right there in front of her, she couldn't speak. Her mind had gone blank. And unbeknown to her, Sesshomaru was in the same predicament.

Sesshomaru himself had planned what would happen if he was to ever see her again. What he would say and ask. Now that she was standing right there, staring at him wide-eyed, he couldn't remember what exactly he had planned.

"I should...get back.." she began to say. She was growing nervous. She couldn't tell if he was glad to see her or not.

"Your work shift is over."

She glanced at her wristwatch and noticed he was right. How did he know she stopped working at this time?

She looked back into golden eyes that stared right back at her.

After a few moments of, once again, staring at one another, Sesshomaru decided to break the silence with a question that had been on his mind constantly. "Where have you been?"

"I..." She sighed. Of course he would have some questions. "Can we talk somewhere else?" She asked, not wanting to be here any longer than she had to.

He nodded. He didn't like being here and would have no objections to leaving the place. "Meet me outside"

**o~O~o**

He only had to wait a few minutes before Rin came out of the nightclub. He knew where they would go to talk; it was not far from here.

Sesshomaru inhaled deeply, taking in her scent without the many scents of different people, drinks, and sweat that surrounded him in the nightclub. He had found her scent to be pleasant back then, but now it was even more appealing.

"Come." he said as he began walking, obviously expecting her to follow without question, just as she did when she was a child.

Rin rolled her eyes and smiled softly. _'He hasn't changed at all'_

They walked in silence. Rin was so busy thinking over what she would say and how she would explain things that she didn't pay attention at all as to where they were going. It was only after she noticed that Sesshomaru had stopped, did she take a moment to look at her surroundings.

A few swings...a slide...the playground looked familiar. It took her a moment to recognize her surroundings due to the darkness of the night, but she soon realized they were at the park; the same park they used to meet at ten years ago.

She smiled widely and walked over to a familiar wooden bench, hearing Sesshomaru's footsteps behind her. She sat in the bench and once again smiled when he took a seat next to her.

Rin leaned back in the wooden seat and tilted her head back to look at the stars, enjoying the cool breeze. It was so nice to be here with him again. Perhaps he had noticed how nervous she was and had thought coming here would get her to relax. If that was his plan, it worked. She only wished Jaken was there with them.

"You know..." she started, still looking up at the night sky. "I came here to see if I might see you or Jaken when I first returned to Shinjuku."

"Where were you?" he asked, knowing that she knew what he was referring to.

She shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he would become angry at her. She had made the decision to leave when she was just a little girl, so perhaps he wouldn't be upset. She truly thought her leaving would be for the best. Perhaps he would understand? Besides, Anna and Tai turned out to be great parents.

Sesshomaru waited patiently for her answer and continued to watch her silently, watching every emotion that played across her face as she thought of a way to answer him.

"I was in Kobe. Anna and Tai, the people who adopted me, lived there and so I had to go there as well." She still didn't look at him, and continued staring upward.

"Why did you not tell me you were to be adopted?" he asked. He felt oddly content, sitting here with her. He had truly missed her company. When she was a child, he didn't really realize how much he appreciated having her around, until she was gone. It felt wrong to not have her by his side.

She wasn't really sure how to explain it to him. "I never really thought to tell you at first. When I spent more and more time with both you and Jaken, the thought never crossed my mind. I guess it was because I was having too much fun" she giggled then, and Sesshomaru decided at that moment he enjoyed the sound immensely.

"But when it got closer to the time where I would have to leave, the thought of not seeing you both was so sad, I didn't want to mention it. I thought it was better that way, since I was kind of a nuisance" she said as she finally tore her gaze away from the stars to look at him.

His gaze was unreadable, and for a moment Rin was worried that she had upset him because of what she said.

"What made you think you were a nuisance?" he finally asked. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding before answering.

"Jaken mentioned that you would get more work done if you didn't spend time with me." She shrugged as if it was not a big deal. "It made sense to me. I knew grown ups had to work a lot, so I felt like I was taking up a lot of time you could have spent doing your job."

He bit back a growl and relaxed his facial features so she wouldn't see the irritation he felt. The next time he saw Jaken he'd-

"Well, I should start heading home..." Rin said after seeing the murderous glint in the dog demons' eyes. Was he really that mad at her? She was only a child at the time.

"It was nice seeing you again Sesshomaru" she said honestly as she gave him a bright smile. Even if he was upset with her, she was still happy she got to see him one more time. She only wished Jaken was here as well.

Sesshomaru watched as she turned to leave and almost growled his displeasure.

"I will take you home."

**o~O~o**

She didn't live that far, so, much to both their disappointment, they arrived in only a few minutes. She had started to say goodbye once they reached her apartment building, however, he insisted on walking her up to her door.

Rin didn't try to refuse, because truthfully, she wanted to spend more time with him. Even if it was only until they got to her door, which was on the second floor of the apartment building.

Once they got to her door, she stayed still for a moment before speaking.

"I know it might seem silly" she said as she turned to face him, "But I keep feeling like this is a dream and I'll wake up any minute."

Without thinking, she reached her hand out and placed it upon his cheek. The moment she felt the inner warmth of his skin she smiled, seemingly satisfied, and whispered "I've missed you..._Mr._ Sesshomaru"

She giggled as she pulled her hand away, and Sesshomaru had to physically refrain himself from reaching out just to feel the warmth of her skin again.

As she opened the door and walked in, his eyes flashed red and a low growl escaped his throat as a very male scent reached his sensitive nose.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Inuyasha :P and I definitely don't make any money from this story. **

_**A/N: Again, I'm sorry this is so short :c **_

* * *

_"Maybe, if you can't get somebody out of your head, they're supposed to be there." -Unknown_

_o~O~o_

Rin walked into her small apartment and closed the door behind her. She paused for a moment.

Did she hear a growl?

After a moment of hearing nothing, she shrugged her shoulders and took off her shoes before walking to where she had last seen Daisuke.

He was asleep on the couch; face down in a pillow, and it looked as if he was trying to dig his way through the couch and escape the room.

She giggled, and in that moment his head rose and his eyelids opened slowly, revealing tired green eyes. She watched as his nose twitched for a moment before he frowned slightly.

"I smell dog" he said, his nose now scrunched up as he looked around the apartment.

"I saw an old friend today" she answered. "He's a dog demon"

Daisuke raised his eyebrows before he once again frowned. Rin watched as his eyes narrowed for a moment before he realized she was still looking at him. He immediately smiled and laid his head back on the pillow. "I'm gonna go back to sleep ok?"

"Sure, do you need a blanket?" she asked. She didn't mind if he was sleeping over. He had slept over a few times before.

"Nah, I'm fine" he answered as he shifted his body to get more comfortable.

"Okay, goodnight Daisuke"

"G'night."

* * *

Sesshomaru laid in his bed and stared up at the ceiling; his mind thinking back to the short reunion he had with Rin only an hour ago.

After he had smelled the male demon, he had a hard time not breaking down the door then and there. He was slightly confused as to why he reacted that way. She was old enough to make her own decisions so it was none of his business. Perhaps it was because the scent he picked up was that of a panther demon? Dog demons and panther demons rarely got along. Either way, it was none of his business.

_'I will not think about it'_

...

He hadn't seen a ring on her finger, so it wasn't her husband or fiancé. Perhaps it was her boyfriend? If so, were they living together?

He gritted his teeth at the thought of the male sleeping with _his_ Rin.

_'She is not mine'_ he thought sternly.

This was the first time he had talked to her in nine years and already he was developing some sort of feelings for her. These feelings confused him, though it was not at all that surprising. Even as a child, Rin had managed to make the seemingly emotionless demon show affection towards her. In his own way of course.

The more he thought of her, the more he became frustrated with not knowing who was in her apartment. It bothered him immensely, but he knew he couldn't just come out and ask her about it.

It was then that he realized he hadn't asked her for her number...

It didn't matter. He knew where she worked and lived now.

What if she thought he was stalking her?

Sesshomaru frowned at the thought. He was no stalker. He had been looking for her because he was worried about her, though he'd never admit it. He would just have to explain as best as he could to her tomorrow how he knew where to find her.

And he would also find out what her relationship is with the male.

Only because he was curious of course.

**o~O~o**

Sesshomaru headed for his office after making sure to throw the closest thing possible -which had been a metal trash can- at the little green imbecile named Jaken. Any other day he would have made sure to cause the imp more damage, but today he was in a rush. He wanted to get the meeting he had scheduled over and done with quickly so he would be able to see Rin again.

Merely to explain his situation of course...

Just as he got to the door of his office, he was stopped by what had to be one of the most annoying sounds he had the displeasure of hearing more often then he could sometimes tolerate.

"Hey! Bastard!"

He growled, turning around to see the owner of the voice and narrowing his eyes at the half demon. Truly, he had no sense of decency.

"Well you seem in a better mood than usual" Inuyasha smirked. "Did you see Rin yesterday?"

"That is none of your concern." Sesshomaru answered coldly.

Inuyasha only stared at the demon. He hadn't been punched or yelled at, and Sesshomaru seemed to not want to give a straight forward answer. He smirked. _'Yup, he saw her'_

"Excuse me? Lord Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru looked down at the small demon standing by his feet. Hadn't he just been lying unconscious on the floor?

"Did you truly see Rin?" Jaken tried to not show how excited he felt. "May I see her?" he asked, wondering where his lord had seen her.

Sesshomaru's first thought was _'no'_. However this could be the perfect reason to go see Rin. She would think it was because Jaken wanted to see her.

He showed no sign of acknowledgement, and instead began walking towards the elevator. He wanted to see her as soon as possible.

"Let's go Jaken."

"Yes milord" Jaken yelled happily as he ran to catch up to his lord.

"Oi! What about your meeting?" Inuyasha yelled. Had Sesshomaru forgotten about it?

"You will attend it for me." he heard his half brother answer.

_'That bastard..'_ Inuyasha seethed. He hated attending those boring meetings and had been happy that no meetings were scheduled for him this week. Sesshomaru was supposed to attend this one. Besides, why should he do his bastard of a half brother a favor?

He hadn't even said please.

Just as he was about to head toward his own office, Inuyasha paused mid-step. If he attended that meeting in Sesshomaru's place, he was sure his father would let him leave work early today.

And that meant he would be able to stop at the ramen restaurant before going home. Kagome wouldn't find out about it.

...He could do his half brother at least _one_ favor.

**o~O~o**

He truly didn't like this area of Shinjuku that Rin was living in. He would have to talk to her about her living arrangements soon. She should be living in a safer area; preferably close to him. Actually, he still had to talk to her about that horrid job she had. She shouldn't have to work at that place where a bunch of drunk guys would try to flirt with her.

Sesshomaru proceeded toward the run down apartment; Jaken waddling slightly behind him.

"Does she truly live in this dump?" Jaken mumbled to himself, looking distastefully at some of the broken apartment windows. "Honestly, doesn't that girl see where she's been living?"

"Jaken" Sesshomaru said sternly, glaring at the imp.

Jaken wisely stopped talking, not wanting to get hit once again today.

Once they were inside the apartment building and had gotten to Rin's door, Jaken was surprised to see his lord actually _hesitate_ for a brief second before raising his hand to knock. However, just before his hand connected to the door, it was swung open, revealing a male. A male demon actually.

"Yeah I'll call you later, bye Rin" the Panther demon said before turning his head to look straight at Sesshomaru.

Jaken watched as the panther demons' bright green eyes narrowed before he closed the door behind him and suddenly smiled.

"Hey there. I'm Daisuke. And who're you?"

Jaken stepped forward, wishing he had his trusty staff of two heads so he could burn the demon right where he stood. "Show some respect you fool! You are in the presence of Lord Sesshomaru"

Daisuke lowered his gaze to look at Jaken, his friendly green eyes flashing dangerously for only a second before he looked once again at the dog demon.

"Sesshomaru? Nice to meet you"

Jaken began sputtering, outraged that this pathetic demon dared to address his lord so familiarly.

Sesshomaru stayed silent, his clawed hands closed in a tight fist as he tried not to growl at the lower demon that just emerged from Rin's apartment. No matter how nice he acted, there was something about the panther demon that unsettled him.

"So why are you here?" Daisuke asked as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes "I have no reason to explain anything to you."

Daisuke opened his mouth to retort, but paused; his ears twitching slightly for a moment before he began walking away. "Alright, it's none of my business. It was nice meeting you"

The door swung open once again, though this time it was Rin who had opened it. Jaken couldn't help but notice the way Lord Sesshomaru's stance seemed to relax as his golden eyes softened upon seeing the girl.

"Sesshomaru?" Rin was surprised to see him standing at her door. She was sure she probably wouldn't see him again for a long time. "What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Silly girl! How many times have I told you when you were a child, it's _Lord_ Sesshomaru to you!" Jaken squawked, taking a few steps forward.

Rin immediately looked downward after hearing the familiar and annoying voice. "Jaken?" She stared at him a moment more before a huge smile spread across her face and she bent down to hug the small toad tightly.

"Jaken! I've missed you!" She said happily, squeezing him a little tighter.

Jaken opened his mouth before immediately shutting it and instead chose to glance at lord Sessshomaru, who was glaring at him. And Jaken was sure that he was the only one able to hear the growling at the moment.

"Release me Rin" he said quickly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as the low growling continued.

Rin released her hold on the small demon and stood up, still smiling as she looked up once again at Sesshomaru. "Thank you for bringing Jaken here to see me, would you two like to come in?"

Sesshomaru merely nodded, wishing that he was alone with Rin at the moment. Though, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed how happy she seemed when she saw Jaken. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he didn't like close contact between her and Jaken when she hugged him.

"You can sit on the couch if you want" she said as she walked into her kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

Sesshomaru remained standing, not wanting to sit where the panther demons' scent was the strongest. Had he slept on the couch? If he had, Sesshomaru was glad.

_'Though the sidewalk would have also been an adequate place for that demon to sleep...'_

"Rin, was that Panther demon an acquaintance of yours?" Jaken asked as he too picked up the scent of the panther demon around the small apartment. His sense of smell was not as good as his lords, but the panther demons scent was quite strong in the living room.

"Hm?" She cocked her head to the side in thought for a moment. "You mean Daisuke? He's just a friend. He was here last night watching tv and fell asleep, so I told him he could stay over."

Sesshomaru felt relief spread throughout his entire body. The male was not her boyfriend nor her lover. He still didn't like the fact that he had slept in the same vicinity as Rin. Would he be sleeping over again? Tonight?

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Jaken's loud and annoying voice. Honestly...how could a demon so _small_ be so _loud_?

"Well you could have at least called" Jaken squawked, narrowing his eyes accusingly at the much older Rin. He didn't want to let her know how happy he was to see her again.

"I didn't have your number" Rin answered, giggling as she watched the green demon cross his small arms across his chest.

"I missed you too Jaken" she said.

Jaken's eyes widened as he sputtered a few incoherent words; a dark blush spreading across his green face. How did she know he had missed her? He quickly closed his eyes and cleared his throat, hoping to change the subject quickly. His mind momentarily blank, he quickly blurted out any question that came to mind. "What do you have planned for today Rin?"

"Nothing really, I actually have to leave for work in a few hours."

"_No_" Sesshomaru's baritone voice surprised both Jaken and Rin. He had been so quiet up until now.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Rin asked, slightly confused. She needed to go to work so she'd get paid, and then be able to pay her bills. Surely he understood. He himself worked quite a lot.

"You will not be returning to that place Rin" he said; his decision made. The other two occupants in the room knew, by the sound of his voice, there would be no use trying to argue with him. His answer was final. He left no room for discussion.


End file.
